A Wonderful Partnership Pt 2
by WayofLife4587
Summary: This is Book 2 of this series The Wonderful Partnership. This is season 2 of Bones in the other books I said these books are surrounded by there's marriage from the very beginning. If you haven't read the other first book you need too before you read this one. B&B have been married for 4 years now.
1. Chapter 1

**This is the second book of bones which means Season 2**

 **Disclaimer - I don't own bones in reality but I own it in my dreams**

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 **Chapter 1 – Titan on the Tracks**

Booth and Brennan were driving at night in the rain, when he asked, "What'd you do?"

Brennan smiled, "I read, walked on the beach, chilled. I'm glad I changed my vacation plans to spend time with my brother. Russ and I talked about it and we really want to find Dad."

Booth looked at Brennan amused, "Okay, well just so you know, the FBI is going to find your father, no matter what you want."

Brennan looked out the window as she said, "My brother and I don't want the FBI to backburner its search." Booth made a sharp left turn and the tires squealed on the wet pavement. Brennan looked at him worriedly and asked, "Is it okay to go over on two wheels like that?"

Booth was paying more attention to what she said about the FBI than that question. "Only when making sharp turns at high speeds. Okay, Bones, why don't you have a little, uh, you know, faith in me, okay? I'm not gonna backburner the case all right? I'm gonna…find your father, babe."

Brennan smirked as she looked out the window, "My brother said you'd say that."

Booth looked at her from the corner of his eyes and smiled softly. "You really keep saying 'my brother' a lot."

Brennan smiled lopsidedly at him, "Well, I lost Russ for fifteen years. I like the sound of it…my brother." She then questioned, "What's with the siren? And why are you driving like a maniac?"

~BONES~

A car was engulfed by flames as Booth and Brennan arrived at the scene. Booth was telling Brennan what happened. "Got passenger cars on the tracks, one on the side…there's gonna be fatalities."

Dr. Camille Saroyan was holding a severed arm as she yelled out, "Stan! I need some gauze. Danny? You don't find the owner of this in the next ten minutes, he'll bleed to death. Starting…" She set a timer on the watch around the wrist of the severed limb, "…now." Cam looked up, and spotted Brennan and Booth. "Seeley."

Booth hated it when other people called him that. Only a select few were allowed to call him by his first name. he said through clenched teeth, smiling, "Camille."

Cam smiled back at him, "Don't call me Camille."

Booth told her, "Don't call me Seeley. Dr. Brennan, Dr. Saroyan. You two know each other, huh?"

Brennan looked at Booth and then at Cam. She didn't remember meeting her. "No."

Cam was surprised to hear that. Considering they did know each other. She said surprised "No."

Booth looked between them and whistled softly. That was not going to end well, "Uh-oh."

Cam nodded her head and went straight to business, "Dr. Brennan, I'd like you to check out the automobile this train hit. It's probably what caused the derailment."

Booth also went straight into work. "Accidental?"

Cam shook her head, "NTSB guy says the train struck the car at least 200 yards from the nearest access."

Booth nodded his head in understanding, "Deliberate."

Cam yelled over her shoulder, "Eight minutes, Steve!" She looked at Booth and said, "Probably suicide." She looked at Brennan and asked, "Why are you still here, Dr. Brennan?"

Brennan looked at her with a mixture of confusion and amusement, "Because I'm not a coroner, and I don't work for you?"

Cam titled her head and smiled, "You got that half right."

Brennan looked at Booth questioningly.

Someone yelled out, "Got him, Cam! Still breathin'!"

Cam looked over and yelled back, "Thanks, Steve! All right." She tucked the severed arm beside the man who was being carried away on an emergency gurney. "Every survivor is one less person for me to autopsy." She turned to Booth and smiled, "You look good out of your suit, Seeley. But then, you always did. "

Cam walked away and Booth turned to watch her go. He shook his head, this was not going to end well if he didn't do something about it. "Yeah, that's…great to have you back in D.C., Camille."

Brennan could tell that Booth knew the woman. They had a history and if Booth hadn't told her about her that meant it was some type of sexual one. Booth never liked talking about his past partners with her – for reasons still unknown to her – which could only mean that one thing. She wanted to make him squirm a little. "One minute she's holding a severed arm, the next, she's hitting on you."

Brennan moved towards the burnt out car trying to conceal her smile, and Booth followed her and tried to explain, "No, she wasn't hitting on me, and you know what, she is your boss, Bones."

Brennan was thrown for a loop with that one, "What? Goodman's my boss." She then asked a firefighter, "May I approach?"

The firefighter looked up and said, "All yours, Dr. Brandon."

She corrected him, "Brennan. Dr. Brennan."

The firefighter smiled and asked, "You wanna guess my name?"

Brennan leaned into the car from the front passenger side with a flashlight, "No, but there are thousands of you in D.C. and only one of me."

Booth leaned into her and whispered, "You know, while you were away, Goodman decided that there should be a head of forensics at the Jeffersonian. Never occurred to you to check in, huh?"

Brennan looked at him surprised, "Why didn't Goodman hire me?"

Booth smirked and told her softly, "Oh, my guess? People skills."

Brennan scoffed at that, "I have people skills."

Booth snorted, "Oh, all right. That firefighter's name is Nelson, and it's at least the fourth time that you've met him. Odds are Cam knows his kids' names after meeting him once. "

Brennan chose to ignore what he said and told him, "A lot of jewelry. Male. Thigh bones suggests he was tall. I.D. bracelet. It's good quality gold, slightly melted. Too melted for a regular car fire. Do you see a skull?"

Booth looked at her drily, "Hey Bones, I'm not looking for a skull."

Brennan sighed and said, "Burn damage to the body is more intense than I'd expect from a car fire. Even if the fuel tank ruptured and was absolutely full at the time of impact."

Booth could laugh sometimes by what his wife said, "Do you see anything on this car that isn't ruptured?"

Cam yelled out from a distance, "Booth! Three deaths in the first class car."

Booth clapped his hands together, "Oh, homicide! That makes it my case."

Cam told him, "One of them's a senator."

Brennan looked at Booth confused, "That makes a difference?"

Booth smiled sadly, "Facts of life, Bones." He then hurried off to find out more about these homicides. Brennan watched him leave, wondering if she should press him more about his relationship with Cam or if she should wait it out and let him tell her on his own terms.

~BONES~

Brennan swiped her security pass to enter the central platform, as she overheard Angela tell Jack, "Apparently Cam is autopsying a senator."

The two of them watched Booth and Cam's friendly conversation nearby. Hodgins smiled in response to Angela, "A senator? Oh, we're moving up in the world."

Angela whispered – not soft enough though where Brennan didn't hear her, "They have a past."

Hodgins looked at her surprised, "Cam and the senator?"

Angela snorted softly, "Cam and Booth. Look how she touches his arm when he laughs."

Brennan looked sideways at Booth and Cam and saw what Angela was talking about. They definitely had a past, sexual one, and Brennan didn't like the feelings that were rising within her. She knew what it was and she knew it was irrational, but she felt it nonetheless. She was jealous.

~BONES~

Booth sat next to Brennan in the Royal Diner trying to understand why Cam snapped at Brennan and her team and still trying to understand how Brennan's squint squad got those result from… "Spam?"

Brennan nodded her head as she took a sip of her drink, "There were Mason jars in the backseat, intended to break when the train hit."

Booth looked at her still perplexed. "And they got this with SPAM?"

Brennan nodded, "Yeah, SPAM."

Booth nodded his head now understanding – sort of – why Cam reacted like so. "Mmhmm. And Cam, she got all…bent out of shape."

Brennan sighed, "She wants to authorize all experiments."

Booth tried to explain to her why Cam reacted so. "Great, you know Zack and Hodgins, they do an experiment with fake bones in spam."

Brennan laughed softly as she said, "What is your spam fixation?"

Booth shook his head as he smiled at her and went on, "Defense lawyer hears spam, he makes a joke, and the jury laughs, and everything we get from the Jeffersonian is framed as 'goofy science', you know, from a bunch of squints with no connection to the real world."

Brennan narrowed her eyes and told him coolly, "That wouldn't happen."

Booth tried to reason with her. "Oh, really, and the time you dropped a dead monkey down the elevator shaft…"

Brennan had a very good reason for that. "No, that was to show…" She then smiled remembering how that experiment played out in the courtroom. "Okay, I take your point."

Booth told her honestly, "Cam's goal is a successful prosecution in a court of law."

Brennan nodded her head, "Same as mine and yours."

Booth chuckled as he told her, "Oh, you're all about finding the truth."

Brennan didn't like the way his voice sounded, "Okay, your words say 'good', but your tone says 'bad', so it's confusing."

Booth sighed as he turned to her and told her softly, "Cam knows that too much truth is just as bad as too little." His cell rang and he reached inside his jacket to pick it up as he finished, "Which is why she got the job. Booth."

Brennan looked at him incredulously before leaning over. She was going to figure out exactly what type of relationship he had with cam and why he was hiding it from her. "You know, Angela says that you and Cam had a sexual relationship. Does that affect your view of her? And why didn't you tell me?"

Booth spoke into his phone first, "Patch me through." He then turned to Brennan, "Well, Cam and I, we sorta went out some time ago. But that doesn't change my view of her. We're just friends now, that's it. You know how much I hate talking about my past…relationships. It doesn't matter what happened back then, all that matters is that I'm yours now. And you're mine – in a non-possessive kind of way of course." He then asked into his phone, "When?"

Brennan was slightly satisfied with that answer. "You know, personal prerogative is at the heart of scientific inquiry."

Booth looked at her trying to get her to stop; he needed to tell her something. "Bones." He whispered into his phone, "Thanks for the notification." He then closed his cell phone and put it back in his jacket pocket.

Brennan saw how his mood changed. And it didn't have to do with Cam. Something bad happened. "What?"

Booth tried to break it to her gently, "The man who was charged with murdering your mother."

Brennan nodded, "The pig farmer. Vince McVicker."

Booth whispered, "He was killed. Today. At Alexandria Federal Holding Facility."

Brennan was shocked into silence for a few seconds as she started to tear up. "I don't…he was the only connection to my father. His trial was going to be my…" She shook her head, "How am I ever going to find out what really happened?" Booth placed his hand on her shoulder and gently brought her into his chest, hugging her.

~BONES~

Cam looked down at what Booth was showing her, "Two people forced the corpse into the jacket, that's excellent work. Who's that?"

Booth told her, "I think it's Rick Turco."

Cam nodded her head, "Means Turco's probably the last person who saw Lynch before he fell off the radar."

Booth looked at her as he said seriously, "Of course, Angela and Zack are scared that this counts as an experiment and you're going to fire them."

Cam smiled, happy to see she was getting somewhere. "Ah! I am getting through."

Booth shook his head as he smiled softly. Ever since Brennan had asked him about Cam, he saw that she was jealous. He didn't know of what, but that made him think of making it clear to Cam that they were just friends. "Why did you take this job, Camille?"

Cam looked at him through narrowed eyes, "Why shouldn't I, Seeley?"

Booth leaned into her slightly as he whispered, "Because it's basically herding cats, and you're a dog person."

Cam joked, "Dogs herd cats."

Booth shook his head slowly, "Dogs don't do that."

Cam laughed softly as she said, "Chase 'em up trees, whatever."

Booth crossed his arms across his chest as he said, "Seriously, Cam. Why did you take this job?"

Cam picked up a metal instrument and told him, "These. Are titanium rib-clippers from Germany. My last job? Used bolt cutters from Home Depot. These are much, much nicer. This autopsy table? Has downdraft ventilation. No rotting corpse smell, Seeley. My last table didn't even have a drain. Think about that a second. Leaky corpse, no drain."

Booth laughed at that. He saw right through her. "So you took this job for better equipment."

Cam smiled, "I've spent my whole professional life in basement rooms with no windows. Now I'm in the Jeffersonian Institute…what?"

Booth needed to make sure though, "Gotta ask."

Cam shook her head, "You so do not."

Booth became serious all of a sudden as he said, "Did you take this job because of…" He then gestured to himself.

Cam laughed at that, "God, the ego!"

Booth was still serious, "Say it."

Cam shook her head, but didn't look him straight in the eyes – which Booth took notice of – and said, "Nothing to do with you."

Booth nodded his head, "Good because that can't happen. I'm with someone now." He then remembered something else before he left, "Oh, I need Bones this afternoon."

Cam raised her eyebrow, "Okay."

Booth didn't need anyone else at the lab knowing about them so he tried to tell her, "It's about her mother's murder and her father's disappearance."

Cam smiled as she joked around, "Plus, she dedicated her book to you, so…"

Booth told her seriously, trying to blow what she was saying off, "It's a legitimate case, Cam."

Cam nodded as she said, "I know. I read the file." Booth moved to leave when Cam asked, "Why hasn't she confronted me?"

Booth turned around. "About what?"

Cam smiled, "About me, being parachuted in over her head? Finds me intimidating, right?" Booth laughed out loud at that idea. Cam intimidating his Bones. "Hey, I intimidate people."

Booth stifled his laughter as he said, "Yeah, Bones doesn't intimidate."

Cam looked at him confused, "Then…what?"

Booth tried to explain it to her, "Have you seen the way she stares at human remains before she makes a decision?"

Cam nodded, "Yes."

Booth smirked as he told her, "You're human remains and…she hasn't made a decision yet."

Cam asked his retreating form, "How do I help her make the right decision?"

Booth turned around and shrugged, "Go for the truth. You know, take care of her people. Oh, and I like the whole intimidation thing. I think it's cute on you."

~BONES~

Booth and Brennan were sitting in the car after leaving the graveyard when Booth looked over at Brennan and asked, "Bones, are you concerned about my relationship with Cam?"

Brennan looked at him and then back out the window as she lied, "No."

Booth knew she was lying. "Bones, I know you're lying to me. Come on, you know that I would never cheat on you. I can't even imagine myself with another woman. You're it for me. We've known each other since our childhood. Why are you acting like this?"

Brennan sighed as she tried to find the right words. "I guess I'm," she made a sound of frustration, "jealous of her. However irrational it is I am jealous."

Booth looked at her surprised. Brennan hardly ever got jealous. Ever. "Why?"

She looked at him and told him honestly, "I know you would never cheat on me. I know you love me. But I guess, I'm jealous of her because she knew you as a young man. We tell each other a lot of things, but there are still things we still don't know about each other. And some of those things that I don't know about you, she does know because you knew her before you knew me. I'm just irrationally jealous of her better knowledge of you."

Booth was silent for a few minutes thinking about what he could say to make Brennan feel better and then it came to him. "Temperance, do you remember on our second date how I told you I was trying to get over my gambling addiction?" He saw her nod, so he went forward, "Do you know why I told you? Because I was stopping for you. I knew that what I was doing was destroying me, but it was how I coped with the things I did. But when I was around you, I felt like a better man. You made me a better man. I could talk to you about things I had done and things I went through and you always made me feel like the things I did weren't as bad as I thought they were. Cam had always told me that, she even tried to get me to stop just the day before. But you, Temperance Brennan, made me change my mind. Because I knew that you deserved someone better than who I was back then. Hell, even to this day I don't know why you chose me. But I love you and you know me better than Cam ever will because of our connection. We complete each other, babe. We make each other whole."

Brennan looked at him and smiled softly. "I know you mean metaphorically and I have to agree with you. We do complete each other. And thank you Seeley, for telling me that." She stroked his cheek gently as she said, "You are a very good man, Booth. I love you very much." She then leaned in and kissed him softly.

Booth smiled as they kissed. "Let's go home and I'll show you how much I love you."

Brennan laughed softly and whispered before kissing him again, "I would like that very much."

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 **I really hope you liked this chapter**

 **Review please**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: I'm glad you liked the first chapter of season 2**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own Bones**

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 **Chapter 2 – Mother and Child in the Bay**

Booth was removing Brennan's windbreaker from a hook in her office as he told, "Cops say the body washed up on the bay. They think it could be Charlie Richardson."

As he handed the jacket to Brennan she gave him a confused look and said, "And I'm supposed to know who that is?"

Booth shook his head at her lack of current news. "Yeah. Disappeared a year ago, she was pregnant. C'mon Bones, we have a TV, y'know. Or, hey, or at least just, thumb through a People at the checkout stand."

Brennan asked jokingly, "Was it in the Journal of Forensic Anthropology?"

Brennan started to walk out of her office and Booth followed her as they walked through the lab. He shook his head and joked right back, "Oh, you know, I forgot to renew my subscription. You know what, Bones? You really need to take up some other interests."

She rolled her eyes. "Well, I'm reading Ted Gioia's History of Jazz, was she mentioned in there? Or maybe in McGhee's Science and Lore of the Kitchen? Or perhaps I should develop an interest in the mainstream media's exploitation of crimes for their entertainment value."

Booth chuckled softly as he shook his head again. "You know, it's amazing Bones. You can really be snotty sometimes."

Brennan chose to ignore that remark and asked about the case, "So, Charlie Richardson?"

Booth followed he up onto the lab platform and said, "Charlie Richardson, newlywed. Everyone assumed she was murdered. Husband was cheating on her; there was evidence that they had a fight that day. He was covered in scratches. Witnesses said they saw him down by the marina. Yeah, but, hey you know without the body, they had to kick him free."

Brennan started packing supplies into her field bag as she told him, "Well if she's been in the water for a year, the bones will be saturated. I'll need nylon mesh bagging and…"

Booth tried to play off his next sentence as nothing of importance, "Cam's bringing in everything on the truck."

Brennan's head snapped up at that. "Well after a year there's not going to be a lot of flesh for Cam."

Booth knew that even after their talk, Brennan still had lingering feelings about Cam and their past relationship. "Well, you know, hey, Bones, you know, Cam is – she's in charge now. She runs the place, it's her call."

Brennan stuffed the rest of her supplies in the bag and said, "Then let's hurry, I don't what my remains to be compromised."

She picked up her bag and started to leave the platform, forcing Booth to jog a little to keep up with her as he said, "Okay."

His hand rested on the small of her back as he caught up with her when she said, "I don't care if she's the boss." Booth's cell phone rang and he went to answer it as Brennan told him, "The bones belong to me."

Booth tried to reassure her, "Hey, I know." He then spoke into the phone, "Booth. Oh, yeah. Rebecca." Brennan stopped walking and turned to watch Booth's conversation, worried that Rebecca was calling him. Whenever she called it never-ended well. "Whoa, wait a second, slow down, okay? This is my weekend with Parker, okay? I am his father, all right? Stew is your boyfriend." He sighed as he listened to his ex.

Brennan saw Cam crossing the lab on her way out, followed by Zach, both carrying equipment. She wasn't sure which one she should be more worried about, Booth or her crime scene. Cam called out to her, "We're going to be in the water, Doc. Remember to bring Traxon and soluble tape."

Brennan was highly insulted by that and she moved towards Both who was still on the phone. She whispered angrily, "Does she think I'm new at this? I developed the use of Traxon…"

Booth shushed her and whispered, "On the phone, Bones."

Brennan sighed. She could see that he was getting agitated, "I know, get off. You know how Rebecca is and we have to go."

She tried to pull him away but he shook her off as he told his ex, "It's – Rebecca, he's spending a lot of time with Parker and I don't even know this guy."

Brennan looked back at where Cam and Zach just left and said to no one in particular, "She took Zach. Zach's mine."

Booth was getting annoyed now, "Because you know what? I just – I just want to make sure that he's a good influence. The fact that he, you know, rocks you – rocks your world, surprisingly, that really, you know, doesn't concern…"

Brennan tapped his shoulder to let him know, "I'll just meet you there."

She walked toward the lab doors as Booth looked back and finished his conversation, "…doesn't concern me. I, I gotta run, okay Rebecca? We'll talk about this later." He hung up the phone and ran after Brennan, yelling, "Bones, wait up!"

~BONES~

Brennan sighed angrily, "Why can't you go faster? I don't see why I couldn't drive."

Booth looked over at her from the driver's seat and said calmly, "Because you're agitated."

Brennan looked out the window and folded her arms across her chest. "I am not."

Booth shook his head, amused at how childish she was acting and laughed softly, "You know what, you've turned this into a competition between you and Cam."

Brennan turned a glare on him and told him, "I just like to be first on the scene, that's all. To protect the evidence."

Booth tried to conceal his smirk. "She's not going to disturb anything."

Brennan sighed. "No, it's all tissue and blood and DNA with her. She doesn't appreciate the skeletal system. You can take the I-70, it'll be quicker."

Booth gave her a look as he told her, "Don't back seat drive, okay?"

Brennan smiled now finally seeing how agitated he was too. She wasn't alone in the least bit. "Oh, I think I know who's agitated."

Booth scoffed at that. "Someone is annoying me, okay? That's different."

Brennan snorted and teased, "Rebecca is annoying you because she had a new man in her life."

Booth was not amused, at all. "That's funny, you know? Okay, I am concerned about my son. I wanna know what kind of guy this new boyfriend is. And you know what? If she's not gonna tell me, I'll find out on my own."

She couldn't believe that, "You're going to run a background check on him?"

Booth merely nodded his head as he continued to drive. She knew he was protective of Parker, but this was not going to end well.

~BONES~

Booth was looking at the tiny skeleton of the fetus reconstructed on a small white exam table. Brennan looked up and saw the look on his face. She walked over to him and told him softly, "It was male."

Booth hated these cases. He knew that Bones acted like that to distance herself from the victim, but not this one. "'He'. Not 'it', Bones. I'm gonna go talk to his girlfriend. No mistakes on this one." He tossed aside the file he was holding and walked out quickly, not wanting to see the small skeleton anymore.

Cam watched him leave and looked over at Brennan, with a smug look of something Brennan placed as superior knowledge of how Booth thought. "He always was a little touchy."

Brennan looked at her and then back at where Booth just was and told her coolly, "Yeah, I know."

~BONES~

Booth was sitting at the counter at the Royal Diner, speaking into his cell phone as Brennan walked in for their lunch together, "Yeah I know there's a lot of animals at the zoo. The monkeys – the monkeys are Daddy's favorite. Did you see? They're just like people!" Booth started to make monkey noises into the phone as Bones sat down.

She told him, "Actually 3 million base pairs of the genome differ in protein coding and other functional areas."

Booth looked at her confused, "What?"

Brennan explained to him, "Genetic differences between chimps and humans."

Booth smiled bemusedly at her and said quietly, "I'm talking to a four-year-old, Bones." He then spoke louder into phone, "Oh. Yeah. You're spending a lot of time with Drew, huh? Oh, that's great. Okay, you gotta go eat. Okay, go eat. Make sure… Okay, I love…" The call ended and he hung up the phone, "Yeah."

Brennan looked at him worriedly. This new boyfriend was really getting to him. "New boyfriend spending a lot of time with Parker?"

Booth sighed, not wanting to really talk about it. "Yeah. So you got any new information for me Bones?"

Brennan placed her hand on his forearm and told him seriously, "I'm sorry."

Booth tried to wave it off. "Ah, there's no need."

Brennan knew though that this was getting to him, not seeing Parker when he wanted to. "It must be hard not being able to see him when you want to."

Booth sighed, "See, this is information that I already know, Bones. Why don't you – Let's just say we discuss the case, hmm?"

Brennan backed off, for now. "Sure."

Booth nodded his head and tried to be jovial about the situation, "You know, I'm his father. You know, Parker knows that. I mean, that – that's what's important not some stupid trip to the zoo."

She agreed with him. "No, absolutely."

Booth smiled and kept nodding his head. "Right?"

Brennan replied, "Yeah.

Booth clapped his hands together as he tried to believe his own words. "Done!"

Brennan nodded along with him, "Of course." They were silent for a moment, Booth was still a little unsettled. So after a moment Brennan offered him the locket, sealed in a plastic evidence bag. "We found this in her lung." He needed the distraction and she needed to see what she could do to help Booth.

~BONES~

The squints were all gathered around on the platform as Booth entered. Cam joked, "Here comes Kyle."

Booth was pissed and he just wanted to get this over with. "Ha, ha. Funny. Don't we have something to stab?" Brennan looked at Booth concerned. She had heard Rebecca in the background before Booth hung up and she knew something bad happened between them by the way his shoulders were tense and his jaw was clenched. She would ask him about it after the experiment.

~BONES~

Brennan stopped Booth on the way to the Bone Room, allowing Hodgins to go ahead of them. "Booth, what's wrong?"

Booth looked down at his wife. He really didn't want to hash his conversation with Rebecca out again. "Bones, don't worry about it."

He started to walk again but Brennan stopped him by placing a firm hand on his arm. "Booth, talk to me. You're upset, telling me what happened."

He sighed heavily as he leaned against the wall, "Rebecca threatened to take Parker away from me. She found out about the background check I ran on 'Stew' and she was pissed. She said since we were never married that I have no legal rights to him. She always does this, but this time I think she's serious. But I'm a good father, I love my son. I just want what's best for him."

Brennan stepped in between his spread legs and cupped his cheek with her hand. "You are a wonderful father, Seeley. We won't let Rebecca do that. We'll figure it out. Okay?"

Booth leaned his forehead against hers and breathed in deeply. "Yeah, okay. I just can't lose my son."

Brennan kissed him softly and whispered, "You won't, I promise." She already had a plan forming in her mind.

~BONES~

Brennan had taken a few moments when Booth had been talking with the Social Worker to call Rebecca. She heard her answer and said, "Rebecca, this is Temperance."

She heard the surprise in her voice, "Oh, hi Temperance. How are you?"

Brennan sighed. She called for one reason and one reason only, "I'm fine. Look, Booth told me about what happened between you two and I want to tell you this. Booth has every right to see Parker. I don't want to do this, but I will involve our lawyer if you take him away from us. Booth has a right to be concerned with whom Parker interacts with. The work we deal with every day causes Booth to be weary of anyone. You should be happy that Booth is so concerned for his son's welfare that he does a background check on your boyfriend. So don't make those types of threats again, Rebecca. Booth has enough stress as it is with work for him to be worrying about being able to see his son. He has rights and I am not afraid to have it written down on paper."

Rebecca said tersely to her, "Temperance, this matter doesn't concern you."

Brennan snorted at that. "I'm his wife. Plus, Parker has known me ever since he was a baby. How do you think he would react when he finds out that you took him away from his father? Do you not see how detrimental that is?"

Rebecca sighed, having lost the fight within her. "Look, Temperance. What Seeley did was out of line. I'm happy that he's concerned about Parker, but that doesn't change the fact that I think that Drew is a good man that won't harm my son. We'll never see eye to eye on this, but you're right about one thing. Parker does need his father and I won't take him away from Seeley."

Brennan sighed in relief. "Thank you Rebecca. I really did not like the idea of bringing our lawyers in this situation."

Rebecca smiled as she said, "Yeah, neither would I. And Temperance, Seeley's lucky to have you."

Brennan laughed softly as she looked over at Booth who was telling her that they had to go. She waved at him and said to Rebecca, "I know. Good-bye Rebecca." Rebecca said her farewell and Brennan hung up the phone just as she slid into the car.

Booth looked over at her and asked, "That looked like a heated conversation. Where you arguing with Cam again?"

Brennan chuckled and shook her head, "No, I wasn't. I was just taking care of some business." She then patted his leg reassuringly, happy to have settled the matter with Rebecca.

~BONES~

Booth and Brennan were sitting at a table near the window in the Royal Diner, having just finished up the case. "So you think Richardson can rise to the occasion? Be a decent father?"

Booth looked at her and shrugged, "Well, he's got Charlie's parents to help him and – I like to think that people can change. "

Brennan tried to conceal her smile as she teased, "Faith and hope, right?"

Booth smiled at her and spoke softly, "Right."

Brennan finally let her smile show as she told Booth, "Angela threw in love, too."

Booth leaned toward her slightly and said, "Love is good."

The door to the diner opened and Parker came running in, carrying something as he yelled, "Daddy! Daddy! Daddy!"

Rebecca followed through the door, her boyfriend Drew beside her. Parker climbed into Booth's lap and placed his object on the table before them. Booth smiled down at his son happy to see him, "Parker!"

Parks pointed at the object in front of him. "Look what I did."

Booth smiled as he looked down at his son's project. "Wow! Look at that!" Booth glanced up to see Rebecca and Drew hovering over near the counter. He whispered to Parker, "Um, listen, you stay here with Bones, okay? I'm gonna go talk to your mommy, all right?" Booth removed Parker from his lap and stood up, placing his son on the seat. He kissed his head quickly before moving over to talk to Rebecca. "Listen, uh, this is how it's gotta go down? I gotta meet your boyfriend with Parker here?"

Dew tried to make things right. "Look man, we're here because we wanna…"

Booth continued to look at his ex as he told Drew tensely, "I'm talking to Rebecca."

Rebecca sighed. She knew that Brennan was right about Parker needing his father, but sometimes Booth just made her so angry. "Look this was – this was Drew's idea. And I told him that it was gonna be a bad one."

Parker looked up from explain his project to Bones and yelled, "Dad, look!"

Booth called out, "One second, bud."

Brennan had moved to sit next to Parker and she could see that Booth was angry but this didn't have to happen in front of Parker. She stroked Parker's hair gently as she called out, "Booth?"

Drew tried again, "Parker wanted you to see what he made for school. And he kept saying how much he wanted us to meet, that we'd be friends. Look, I got a kid I don't get to see much, myself. I know what it's like. And I swear the – the explosives were for work."

Brennan had been watching this exchange while trying to calm Parker down a little and she tried once again to get Booth's attention, "Booth?"

Booth start to move back to the table but Rebecca stopped him, "Okay, look, look, look, look, look. We are what we are. And-and-and you can fight it if you want but you're just gonna fight with yourself."

Drew sighed and shook his head as he whispered to his girlfriend, "Maybe this isn't a good time. Maybe later."

Booth looked over at the table and saw Parker looking at him sadly over his diorama with Brennan stroke his long locks of hair, comfortingly. He sighed, knowing what he had to do, "No, no. It's – it's a good time. Let me buy you a cup of coffee, all right?" He led them over to the table and told them, "Nah, it's cool, have a seat."

Rebecca was surprised to see his sudden change. He really did want what was best for Parker. "Seriously?"

Drew smiled, "Thanks, man."

Brennan stood up to allow them sometime alone but Booth stopped her, "It's okay, Bones. You can stay. This is about our family." Brennan smiled and sat back down as Booth sat down with Parker on his lap once again. Drew and Rebecca were sitting together opposite of them when Booth asked his son, "All right, what do we got here, huh?"

Parker tried again to say the right word, "A di – a diorama!"

Booth smiled widely, "Whoa!"

Parker nodded his head as he looked up at his dad and then at Brennan who smiled and nodded her encouragement, "It's the zoo. Drew helped me."

Booth squeezed Parker softly and asked, "The zoo. I hope you thanked him, huh?"

Rebecca smiled and nodded, "Yeah."

Booth smiled down at his son, proud of him for his manners. "You did, huh?"

Parker nodded again and told them, "We got to go to the zoo. He knows all the animals."

Booth laughed softly as he said, "All the animals? Wow! Okay, well maybe afterwards we could, uh, all go out to dinner if it's okay with your mom."

Rebecca looked surprised but smiled at Booth and replied, "Yeah. That – that sounds good."

Parker smiled up and told Drew, "My dad and Bones know a burgers place."

Booth nodded his as he explained, "Yeah. We used to take him there after his T-Ball." He then told Parker, "Tell Drew about the burgers."

Parker became excited as he told him, "He says they're as big as my head."

Booth smiled as he felt Brennan rest her hand on his thigh and squeezed softly. "Yeah, big as your head. We can all go, we can even bring 'Stew'." Brennan was proud of Booth, even if he did make his feelings known to everyone else about this situation, he was doing what was best for Parker.

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 **Please give good Review**


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer - I don't own bones**

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 **Chapter 3 – The Boy in the Shroud**

Booth, Brennan and Cam were standing around Angela as she searched for their victim on her computer. "I'm running our facial reconstruction through the Missing and Exploited Persons database."

Cam whistled softly as she said, "That's a lot of missing and exploited kids."

Brennan shook her head as she watched all the faces fly by, "These are just the locals."

Booth sighed and leaned in, telling them, "Let's hope we don't have to go national."

Cam nodded in agreement and she told Angela to narrow the search. "Narrow the search to street kids in the foster system."

Brennan looked at Cam shocked to hear her say that. They were scientist after all. "Why?"

Cam kept staring at the monitor as she explained, "Because statistically, that's where this boy comes from."

Brennan shook her head in disagreement. "It's far too early to start narrowing our focus."

Cam told Angela, who had been looking on at the exchange with great curiosity and amusement, "Runaways, street kids, foster system."

Angela looked at Brennan for her opinion and Brennan shrugged her shoulders, saying slightly sarcastically, "Dr. Saroyan's the boss."

Cam tried to reason with Brennan though. "I've autopsied a lot of dead kids – car accidents, drug overdoses, drownings. Fine, it's a broad search. Kid in a dumpster – it's a runaway, street kid or foster system."

Booth too had been watching the two exchange words. He knew why Brennan reacted so strongly to what Cam said, but that didn't change the facts. He told her softly, "Cam's right, Bones."

Angela chimed in, "Got it. Dylan Crane, 17."

Cam leaned forward a little bit more and said, "This is why I was appointed to this job, Dr. Brennan – to streamline the process."

Angela smirked as her best friend was right, "Honor student from a nice neighborhood in Alexanria."

Brennan shared the smile with Angela as she whispered, "Oops."

Angela read further in the report, losing some of her gusto in the process, "He disappeared three weeks ago with his girlfriend, Kelly Morris – who is in the foster system."

Cam smiled smugly as she stood up, "Good. There we go. I guess your first move is to find Kelly Morris."

Booth shook his head. He didn't like how these two were treating each other. He knew why Bones was acting like this. One because of her having a boss now and two, because of Cam's lack of love for bones. He also knew that a little itsy bitsy portion had to do with jealousy as well, but Brennan was too rational to really let that get to her. However, he didn't know why Cam was acting like this. So, superior and possessive almost. He told her to let her know how things really worked here, "No, the first move is to inform the Cranes that we just found their son."

~BONES~

Brennan was staring out the window while Booth drove and talked, "Kelly Morris's foster mother is gonna meet us in my office."

Brennan continued to look out her window as she whispered, "Okay."

Booth told her, "She says Kelly took off a couple weeks ago with most of her belongings." Brennan sighed heavily as her thoughts overcame her. Booth looked at her concerned, "You okay, Bones?

Brennan looked at him finally and said matter-of-factly, "I was a foster child."

Booth took her hand in his and squeezed softly, "Yeah, I know."

She asked him softly, afraid to hear the answer, "Did people always assume the worst of me?"

Booth shook his head, "Babe, I know that you hate psychology – but those people – they just lost their son. They need to blame someone. That doesn't mean that people thought the worst of you." Brennan nodded her head slowly, taking in his words. Hoping that he was right.

~BONES~

Brennan and Booth were walking into Brennan's office as she asked him, "Were you lying to the boy? Do you really think Kelly Morris is still alive?"

Booth shrugged his shoulders and answered, "Ah, I don't know."

Brennan looked back at him as he sat down on her couch. "You don't know if she's alive?"

Booth shook his head and explained, "I don't know if I was lying. You see, I just – I really don't have a read on the sister yet. I mean was she a bad guy? Was she a victim?"

Brennan sat down at her own desk as she narrowed her eyes. "Well, do you have a read on Dylan Crane?"

Booth snorted at that. "Oh, yeah. He had that whole adolescent savior complex thing going on big time."

Brennan furrowed her brow in confusion. "Savior complex?"

Booth leaned back into the couch as he explained, "Yeah, teenage boys love nothing more than the idea of saving the damsel in distress."

Brennan knew that Booth had to have been like that as a boy, but couldn't help to tease him. "How do you know?"

Booth smiled charmingly at her as he spread his arms across the cushions. "Well, 'cause I was, ya know, I was a teenage boy."

Cam came into the office and announced, "Hey. DNA from the tissue under the victim's fingernail. Female. And there's nail polish in the gouges on his arm."

Brennan looked at all the viable conclusions for such results. "Well, it wasn't necessarily from the murder. They were sexually active. She might've scratched him."

Cam shook her head. "Nope. Hodgins also found oxidized iron in the scratches."

Booth looked back and forth between the two of them and asked, "Oxidized iron. What's that?"

Both women looked at him and said, "Rust."

Booth threw up his hands and said exasperated, "Why didn't you just say rust?"

Brennan made a sound of protest and pointed at Cam, "Well, she said it." Brennan knew better to than to use big terms with him…well most of the time. But sometimes she forgot who she was talking.

Cam also told the duo, "The same oxidized iron found on the victim's upper back and shoulder."

Brennan nodded her head as she thought of the reason why, "Probably left behind by the weapon that stuck him."

Booth had stood up by then and now he started to walk slowly as he played out the scene in his brain, "So, he was hit with what? A rusty pipe?"

Cam agreed, "That's a reasonable assumption."

Booth walked closer to Cam as they exchanged thoughts, oblivious to Brennan's annoyed look. "Oh, so Dylan tells the girlfriend they're breaking up…"

Cam fills in, "She whacks him across the carotid with a pipe…"

Booth then finished, "And pushes him out the window."

Cam smiled as she nodded, "Exactly."

Booth looked over at Brennan finally seeing the look she was giving him, well both of them, but he knew it was directed more toward him. "What? What's with the stink eyes? It's just a theory."

Brennan told Cam and Booth briskly, "There was cheap nail polish in the box of Kelly's belongings. You should see if there's a match."

Cam told Booth, "Find some hair. Match the DNA on that then get started on the, uh, murder weapon." She added in that last part, remembering Brennan's reaction.

Booth nodded, "Yeah." Brennan got up from her chair and reached for her jacket – heading towards the door – she couldn't take them anymore. They were willing to charge that poor girl for murder and they didn't even have all the facts! Booth watched her leave and asked, "Where are ya going?"

Brennan turned around and told them angrily, "I thought that before we arrest Kelly Morris for murder, based solely on the fact that she's a foster kid, we might want to find the place where Dylan Crane actually died. Point of fact, the pipe, if that's even what it was, was not the murder weapon. The evidence, if anybody cares, shows that Dylan Crane died from a fall." She then left in a huff. She knew that this case was hitting a little closer to home, but that didn't change the fact that she would find out the truth. And she didn't need Cam to do that.

~BONES~

Booth and Brennan were walking down the hallway to Booth's office as he told her, "Fran Duncan's clean. Great record in the community. But Kevin Duncan? The kid got it right. I mean, he's a perv. Inside three times on 'solicitation of a minor' charges."

Brennan asked, "Boys or girls?"

Booth looked back at her as they entered his office, "Girls. He's a traditionalist."

Brennan sighed as she thought of what might have happened, "So, he went after Kelly."

Booth nodded in agreement as he sat behind his desk, "Yeah, and the white knight from the suburbs steps in, gets conked with a pipe and tossed out the window."

Brennan added as she too sat down, "And Kelly goes into hiding."

Booth was the one to sigh this time. "Unless he got her too. So what do you want to do next?"

Brennan smiled tightly as she told him, "Hmm. That's up to Cam, isn't it?"

Booth leaned forward in his seat, "No, Bones. I asked you. What do you want to do?"

She pursed her lips, coming to a conclusion. "I think – I think we shouldn't close off any avenue of investigation. We stay on all the evidence and see where it leads us. Like we did before Cam."

Booth leaned back and smiled at her. "Okay." He watched as she reached over and took a piece of candy out of a jar on his desk and asked, "Do you have a list like Carter?" He never knew that foster kids did that and Brennan always hated reliving her past in the system, so he had never thought to ask something like that.

Brennan popped the candy in her mouth as she tried to remain impartial, "Of foster families that didn't work out? Yeah. We all did. I wrote mine on a bottom of a shoe."

Booth nodded his head. He had done a little research to try and get into Kelly's mindset and came across something very interesting. "Oh. You know, they say with foster kids, they're really hard on themselves."

Brennan raised her eyebrow. "They?"

Booth stood up and walked over to his file cabinets and looked for something. "Yeah. Experts, psychologists, like that. Apparently, foster kids feel so alone in this mean world, they lose that knack of trusting other people."

Brennan narrowed her eyes. Was he talking about them or… "You mean at work?"

Booth shrugged his shoulders. "Uh, everywhere. You know, the weight of the world. It's – It's just profound. They say that they, uh, have a hard time letting themselves off the hook. They – they grow up with control issues."

Brennan decided that he wasn't talking about them and that he must be talking about her work. "Are you telling me something, Booth?"

Booth shook his head as he finally turned around and looked at her, "No. I'm just saying something to keep in consideration when we catch up with Kelly Morris."

Brennan nodded her head slowly, "Okay..."

Booth then added slyly, "If you decide to take some other wisdom out of it, none of my business."

Brennan nodded her as she smiled, "How Cam and I get along is none of your business."

Booth agreed with her, "Yeah. Right. Which I just said. Said just then – none of my business." Booth smiled, knowing that she would in fact think over what he just said, and see if it had any finding truth to it. And then decide whether or not to use it.

~BONES~

Booth tried to think of how this could have happened, "So, you're thinking the perv kills Romeo and Juliet kills the pervert."

Cam shrugged her shoulders. "Street smart kid like Kelly Morris would have no trouble getting her hands on a gun." Booth made a sound of acknowledgement as Cam tried to decide if she should ask him her nagging question. After all, Booth knew Cam longer than he knew Dr. Brennan. Why would he choose Brennan over her? "Booth, if Dr. Brennan were to quit…"

Booth looked at her shocked. Brennan would never quit. She loved this job too much. "What?"

Cam tried to rephrase that. "If she were to leave the Jeffersonian…"

Booth laughed softly at that idea, but told her honestly, "Well, the squints would flee this institution like the French Army."

Cam asked, "And you?"

Booth saluted slightly and told her, "Well, I do as I'm ordered."

Cam laughed and shook her head. "No, you don't, Seeley."

Booth didn't like how this conversation was going. "Okay, here we go. What's going on, Camille?"

Cam watched as Booth turned around, finally finding the courage to say, "What if I fired her? What would you do?"

Booth spun around and told her in a dead serious voice, "I'm with Bones, Cam. All the way. Don't doubt it for a second."

Cam was shocked into silence but his admission. He would choose Brennan over her, Angela had been right. Thankfully Hodgins came in to save them from that awkward moment, "Meet the English Alba Rose. Climbing varietal. Nonexistent in the United States. Some say, it was the rose by any other name Shakespeare wrote about."

Booth sighed still unnerved by what Cam had just said, "And we give a rat's ass because..."

Hodgins' happy moment went away as he told them drily, "It's what Dylan Crane was clutching in his cold, dead hand."

Cam tried to lighten the mood a little, having gotten over her shock. "So what? He was killed by Hamlet?"

Hodgins smiled as he said, "Wrong play. It's more likely he paid a visit to the rose wing of the United States Botanic Garden."

Cam smiled back as she commended, "When it comes to bugs, slime, crud and compost, you're the man."

Hodgins bowed and laughed as he turned around and left. Booth could see that Cam had been surprised by his loyalty to Bones. Of course Cam didn't know that they were married, but he and Cam had grown distant over the past few years. Living in different states, different lives. Things changed. "Look, Cam. Maybe you just got off on the wrong foot with this case with Brennan because uh, she was a foster kid."

Cam's eyes widened slightly. "Oh. Why didn't she tell me?"

Booth shook his head, "She doesn't do that." He cleared throat and started to head to the door but stopped as he told her, "Oh, by the way, I didn't just tell you that." Brennan would kill him if she found out that he said that to her. After all, what was between them was theirs.

~BONES~

Brennan was sitting with Kelly and her lawyer in the Interrogation Room as Booth watched from the Observation Room. "We know you didn't kill Dylan."

Kelly shook her head, "I did too."

Ms. Childs told her, "Kelly, I don't want you to admit to anything more, alright?"

Brennan leaned forward and said softly, "No. You didn't. We can prove there was a third person there. The third person that hit Dylan with the pipe and when you took away the pipe – pushed him through the glass."

Kelly started to get choked up as she denied it, "No, it was just me. I hit him with the pipe. I pushed him through the glass."

Brennan reasoned with her, "No. You grabbed his arm. You tried to save him."

Kelly shook her head vehemently. "No."

Brennan paused for a minute and looked towards Booth remembering the way he made her feel when they first met. Those feelings she had felt all those years and then Booth came into her life and they weren't has heavy anymore. She told Kelly what she knew she felt, because she felt it herself, "Dylan made you feel like you weren't alone in this world, right? He was sweet to you? He took so much weight off your shoulders. He was good to Alex. And when Dylan said that you'd be together, you believed him."

Kelly nodded her head and whispered, "Yes. Yes, I believed him."

Brennan whispered back, "And when Suzanne couldn't take care of both you and Alex, you had an idea. Run away with Dylan. Maybe Suzanne will keep Alex and everybody would be happy."

Kelly wiped away her unshed tears and tried not to cry, "Dylan loved me."

Brennan nodded, "I know."

Kelly started to cry softly then, finally seeing that they already knew what had happened. "But I didn't tell Alex. He just – He just – he thought that Dylan was trying to take me away from him forever. I – I did it all wrong. It's not – it's not Alex's fault. It's my fault."

Brennan told her urgently, "Kelly. You're 15 years old. This is not your fault. The weight of the world is not on your shoulders. And we can't let you pay for what Alex did."

~BONES~

Brennan came into the Royal Diner and saw Cam sitting alone at one of the tables. She approached her quietly and said, "You were right about the pipe."

Cam looked up and nodded her head as she offered, "You were right about the rose."

Brennan pointed at the seat across from Cam and asked, "Could I sit for a moment?"

Cam nodded, "I wish you'd eat some of these fries. Save me from myself. They're really good with garlic mayonnaise."

Brennan sat down and knew what needed to be done. She needed to set everything aside and work out their issues. Come to some sort of alliance. "We have a problem."

Cam agreed with her solemnly, "Uh, huh. Do you see a solution?"

Brennan sighed. She hated talking about her past, but it needed to be done. "It's not completely my fault. I was a foster child and apparently, Booth says that – Booth says that I have – Well, something about control issues and the weight of the world."

Cam laughed softly, "That sounds like Booth."

Brennan nodded as she tried to decipher what he meant, "I think he meant that if I'm going to share responsibility for these cases, I'm going to have to learn to stop controlling everything too. Does that make sense? Psychology's not – I really – I really hate psychology."

Cam tried to offer her a bone. "Not everyone's brain works as fast as yours. I have to mull sometimes. Are – are you familiar with that concept?"

Brennan nodded again, "Yes. I just always thought it was a waste of time."

Cam laughed out loud at that, "I'm in charge. But out of respect for you, I could extend – Did you ever play Monopoly?"

Booth had always introduced her to board games with Parker, but Monopoly was never one of them. "No."

Cam tried to explain it to her then, "Well, they have this thing called a 'Get out of jail free' card. Think of it as a free pass to defy me. No explanation needed. No recriminations. No repercussions."

Brennan narrowed her eyes. "Well, how – how many would I get?"

Cam offered, "One a week."

Brennan countered, "Five per case."

Cam chuckled and said, "Three per week."

Brennan thought about it for a minute, then reached over and shook Cam's hand, happy to see that they were going to be able to work past this problem. She still remembered thought that Cam wasn't surprised when she told her that she had been in the system. Which could only mean one thing. "Booth told you I was a foster kid, didn't he?"

Cam laughed as she said, "Okay, yes. He did. But he did it with a good heart and I'd really appreciate it if you didn't let him know. Please."

Brennan laughed with her as she told her, "He's gonna know that you told me the second he sees us together."

Cam nodded, "It's true. He's awful like that."

Brennan smiled as she said, "He reads people the way you read pathology reports or I read bones."

Cam joked, "Oh, God. I know. I hate him. Well, I don't really."

Brennan smiled. "I know. Me either." She looked down at the fries and then back up at Cam. Perhaps this whole thing would end so badly after all. She smiled even wider as she thought of how Booth always seemed to know what to say to make her see the logic in relationships. He took the wait off her shoulders.

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 **I'm sorry I haven't posting lately but I'm still in high school and I'm in a early college high school which means more HW but I will try better.**

 **Please Review **


	4. Chapter 4

**Hey guys I'm back if you didn't get a private message then I'll tell it mainly said that I won't be able to post a chapter because my computer wasn't working but now it is so here is chapter 4**

 **Disclaimer - I don't own bones**

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 **Chapter 4 – The Blonde in the Game**

Booth joined the group on the platform as he looked down at the table and asked, "That our victim?"

Hodgins nodded his head. "Yeah, I found flecks of black enamel paint in the wound." With the computer and monitor, he zeroed in on the specific bone, highlighting the hole from the injury with a red circle within a pixel box containing four blue marker points, for Booth to see.

Zach told him, "Shape suggests a tire iron."

Brennan murmured softly, "Tire iron." Everything fit. Everything. She looked up and intently at Booth, meeting his eyes as she said, "Tire iron. Hands and feet bound, buried … face-down."

Cam looked to both Booth and Brennan, eyes wide, needing more information, as Booth nodded his head in realization, "Epps."

Hodgins understood as well, his brow furrowed, looking grave. The team took a collective concerned breath at that sobering news, while Cam looked at each of them, confused. "Hello? New team member in the room."

Brennan looked at her and told her gravely, "Howard Epps, a serial killer on death row."

Booth added, "Killed at least three."

Hodgins looked at Cam as he told her, "We found two of 'em last year."

Angela sighed heavily, "The judge stayed his execution to try him on the new charges."

Cam looked at all of them and nodded her head in understanding, "You saved his life. Ironic."

Brennan looked down at the body and then at Booth again. "The timeframe fits. This girl would have been killed about … six months before Epps went to prison."

Booth nodded his head as he told them, "Run her through the database, get an I.D."

Cam looked at the two of them confused, "Why don't you just ask him?"

Booth tried to conceal his proud smile as he said, "Well, because last time Bones saw Epps, it," his eyes met Brennan's and he finally smiled slightly, "got violent."

Cam looked down at Brennan concerned and then back up at Booth. "You'll be there to protect her."

Booth's eyes never left Brennan's face even as she looked down when he said, "She's not the one who needs protecting. Bones broke his wrist."

Brennan scrunched her face up in disgust as she remembered that event. "He touched me with his creepy serial killer hands."

Cam's eyes widened as she looked at Brennan shocked. "Better not take Dr. Brennan."

~BONES~

Brennan was studying evidence on a computer monitor, as Booth weaved his way to her work station. "Bones. Caroline Epps – not an accomplice. She was at work when Helen Majors was kidnapped."

Brennan looked at him as she quoted the phrase Epps used, "'Alter Freund mit ähnlichem Geschmack.'"

Booth looked at her confused. "Yeah, whatever."

Brennan told him, "It means 'old friend with similar tastes' in German."

Booth shook his head, not buying that for a second. "Oh, no. Epps tellin' us the name of his accomplice? That's too easy."

He started to walk away as Brennan got up and followed him as she said, "Well, if it's too easy, then why can't we find him?"

Booth shook his head, still not buying it. "You know what? He talked about impregnating Caroline."

Brennan gave a frustrated groan at that thought. "What is with Caroline Epps? I mean, why have a child with a monster like him? What is she gonna tell the child when it grows up? 'Hi, your daddy's a monster.'"

Booth looked at Brennan concerned now. She never got like this with any of their other cases. She was letting this get to her. He gently grabbed her arm and whispered,"Look look look. Time out. You gotta detach from this, all right babe? We let Epps get under our skin, it's exactly what he wants.

Brennan nodded her head as she leaned into him slightly when the descended the stairs of the platform. She sighed as she said, "Zach was right. Epps is trying to break us. Not only did we save his life, but he is still killing."

Hodgins walked over quickly, joining Booth and Brennan as they walked. "I found traces of ethylene oxide and high levels of an antibacterial agent on Sarah's ankles. Also, polymer residue found in Polygenex latex glove liners used by people who handle toxic substances."

Brennan never left her position from leaning into Booth slightly as they continued to walk. She was to weary to even care about what others thought. She needed something solid to lean on and that was her husband. She listed off occupations that used those gloves, "Airport screeners, cops…"

Booth stopped walking, stopping Brennan by resting his hand on her waist. He knew that she needed something to lean on and he would always be there for her. Always. However, he took away his hand as he reached for his cell phone and asked, "Wait – prison guards?"

Hodgins stopped walking and turned back to look at Booth, as Brennan looked up at him and Zach walked up with a file of notes and a photograph. "Lauren Hathaway was a nationally ranked junior golfer in 1997." Hodgins sat down at a computer as Brennan took the photo from Zack and studied it.

Booth talked into his phone, "Yeah, its Booth. I need to know if Howard Epps ever had a prison guard by the name of Reiner Hatin."

Zach looked at Brennan's and Booth's position toward each other. They seemed to be leaning into each other, almost as if by instinct. He thought that was interesting but instead of pointing it out he told the group, "She disappeared on May ninth, after leaving the Southampton Country Club in Raleigh, North Carolina."

Booth was still on the phone though as he said, "Check and see if any guard changed his name."

Booth's eyes met Brennan's as she tugged softly on his arm, "Reiner is German for "pure." Epps has a thing about that."

Booth nodded as he said into his phone, "Translate the name and see if that comes back in any form. Then get back to me." He then looked down at the photo Bones was holding. "This the victim from the park?"

Zach told Brennan, "Her father is in your office."

Brennan looked at him stunned and horrified at that. "What?"

Booth wanted so badly to wrap his arm around Bones, but he knew he shouldn't. he settled for being angry at Zach, "Why didn't you say that?"

Zach shrunk back a little, hearing the protective tone in his voice. "You were on the phone."

Brennan looked up at Booth as she gripped his arm. "Booth. I can't do this one. Maybe Angela can help." She then avoided his eyes by looking down at the picture of the girl again.

Booth knew that Brennan meant what she said, just by the fact that she still had a firm hold on his arm. She never allowed any real body contact at work, but now she was initiating it. He told her softly, "All right. I'll take care of it."

~BONES~

Booth kicked in the door to Gil Lappin's home and entered, his gun at the ready. Gil's dog Buddy was there though, barking loudly and his teeth bared. Booth froze in his place as he looked at the dog. "Whoa."

Brennan felt how Booth had instinctually blocked her body from any harm as she too froze in place. She murmured, "Oh, great. Him again. I'll need a pine cone."

Booth stepped forward, pointed his gun at the dog and shouted, "Listen, dog, I will shoot you in the head if you don't cut it out right now!" The dog sat immediately and whined. Booth lowered his gun, relieved. "Oh."

They walked through the house until they came to the last door. Booth opened the door his gun ready. When he saw that the room was safe, he lowered his gun. He and Brennan were grim as they surveyed the collage of victims' photos all over the walls. Brennan looked at the walls stunned to near silence, "Oh."

Booth looked at the walls disgusted with it. "God. I hate the serial killer wall of death."

Brennan pointed to a picture grimly, "This is Sarah Koskoff."

Booth gestured to another photo. "Helen Majors."

Brennan scanned the images as she leaned into Booth slightly. She whispered, "They were so young, so innocent." She picked up another picture and saw who it was. "And Lauren Hathaway."

~BONES~

Booth and Brennan were entering an abandoned sorting center. Booth took the lead, his gun ready. Brennan was behind him, carrying a flashlight. Booth looked back at his wife and sighed. If anything happened to him he didn't want her unarmed with this psycho. "All right." He reached down to his ankle, pulled out a small pistol from a hidden holster, and handed it to Brennan, "Here."

Brennan looked down at the gun and then up as she tried to joke, "I didn't even have to ask."

They slowly made their way through the center, with Booth attentively checking for potential hiding places and shadows as he told her, "Yeah, well, just be careful, all right? Don't shoot me. Don't shoot Helen Majors. Otherwise…" Booth however stopped talking at the sound of chains rattling. He exchanged a look with Brennan – the sound was coming from up ahead. Booth advanced slowly, cautiously, his eyes were everywhere. Both Brennan and Booth reached the entryway and peered inside. They saw Helen Majors, crying softly and hanging upside down by her ankles from a length of chain. She whimpered, "Please?" They made their way around in order to reach her as she called to them again, sobbing, "Please?"

Booth and Brennan ran over to her. Booth holstered his gun as they came to the area where Helen was hanging. Booth whispered, "Helen?"

She cried some more, "Please – please help me."

Brennan switched on a nearby light as Booth reached Helen, "All right. Okay. Take it easy. I got you." He held her from underneath, supporting her back, shoulders and hips, and eased her down slowly as Brennan helped to lower the chain. Booth kept talking to Helen, "I got you, I got you, all right?" He gently laid her down on the ground as he asked, "Where is he?"

Helen shook her head, "He just left. I don't know where he went."

Booth looked at Brennan with great intensity and told her insistently, "Bones, stay here with her. Stay right there." He pulled out his gun again and exited the room as Helen told Bones, "Don't leave me. Please don't leave me." Brennan knelt down beside the girl and looked over to the space where Booth just exited, debating whether she should follow him. Something was telling her to.

Booth made his way down a long shadowy hallway within the sorting center, searching for the kidnapper. He advanced slowly, shining his flashlight here and there, illuminating dark corners and spaces. He turned his head for one moment, and as he rounded the corner, turning his head to focus forward again, Gil Lappin jumped out at him from the shadows. He viciously struck Booth in the arm with a crowbar, knocking him down, sending Booth's gun and flashlight clattering away. He swung at Booth a second time, his crowbar connected with the cement floor as Booth rolled out of the way. Lappin aimed once more, slamming his crowbar down, but Booth rolled again, trying to get away from him. This time though, Booth was out of room to roll. As Lappin raised the crowbar one final time, ready to strike Booth, a gunshot sounded.

Brennan had watched all of that in stunned horror. However as she saw Lappin trying to kill Booth she reacted. She had pulled her trigger and now she watched Lappin groan, twist partway as he fell, stunned as he saw that Brennan shot him. She held her gun and flashlight on him, her eyes were wide and round, as blood oozed from Lappin's mouth. Gurgling, he dropped the crowbar, which hit the cement with a loud clank that echoed throughout the building. Lappin collapsed to the ground near Booth.

Booth gasped, breathing hard as he tried to sit up. He looked over to Brennan, who was still advancing toward Booth and Lappin, gun and flashlight held out as if her arms were locked in that position. Booth was concerned for her but first he needed to make the threat was taken care of. "Is he dead?" Brennan was still wide-eyed as Booth sat up just far enough to feel the side of Lappin's neck. He didn't feel a pulse. "Yeah, he's dead." He fell back over, groaning in pain.

Only then did Brennan let go and dropped her arms to her sides, visibly relieved that Booth was alive and well. Her mouth was still open, shocked at what she had just done though. She had just killed a man.

Booth finally found the energy to pull himself to a sitting position, as he held his injured arm delicately. "God."

Brennan looked at him, dazed. "I had to shoot him. He was going to kill you."

Booth was breathing heavily as he nodded his head, "Yeah." His eyes met hers with love, "I'm glad you did." He knew that she needed time to process everything. So he didn't push the topic anymore as Brennan rushed over to him and assessed his injuries, her fingers delicately gliding over his body.

~BONES~

Brennan sat alone on their couch at home, hunched over with a glass in hand. Booth stood in the bedroom doorway, leaning again the frame as he asked, "Vodka?"

Brennan looked up and laughed softly. "It's water. But it's, "she shook the glass, the ice rattled around inside, "on the rocks."

Booth pushed himself off the doorjamb and shook his head, joking lightly, "You know, Bones, I'm not sure you grasp the basic theory on how to get drunk. Hey, what you need to do is order a shot of hard liquor," he sat down next to her and playfully pushed her shoulder with his, "from a bartender named Shaky. And tell him to, uh, leave the bottle on the bar." He smiled softly at her as she curled up a little into him.

She then laid her head against his shoulder as she whispered, "I'm fine, Booth." He noded slightly, as he indulged her for a few seconds. "I'm sitting here thinking about it, and … I'm fine."

Booth raised his eyebrows at her as she looked at him. She knew that he could see right through her so she cleared her throat, trying to stave off the impending conversation. Booth whispered softly as he gently stoked her thigh, "Okay. So what I'm gettin' from you here, Bones, is that you're fine."

Brennan looked away from his knowing stare and picked up a photograph of Sarah Koskoff that lay on the couch. "He murdered Sarah. He was about to murder Helen. You know, why should I feel upset about shooting him? You know, I mean, if I was going to be upset, which I'm not … it would be because Epps thinks he beat us, so…"

Booth tried to reassure her and said immediately, "He didn't."

Brennan nodded her head, "I know."

Booth looked down into her eyes as he thought about it. "You're upset because you think he beat us. You know what?" He nodded as she looked away. "He did."

Brennan looked up at him again, surprised. "Beat us?"

Booth was still nodding as he answered, "Yeah."

Brennan furrowed her brow. "Well, you just said that he didn't."

Booth shrugged his one unoccupied shoulder, "Well, I changed my mind."

Brennan laughed softly, "What, in the last three seconds?"

Booth turned so that he was facing Brennan on the couch as he told her, "You know, you're afraid that Epps turned you into him – into a killer. You have to come to grips with the fact that you killed another human being." Booth paused as he looked down for a moment thinking of all the people he has killed. "Because when you kill someone, you know, there's a cost." He met her eyes again, "It's a steep cost. I know. I've done it."

Brennan sighed as she leaned her forehead against his. "I did the right thing."

Booth had seen the tears in her eyes as she had leaned into him. "I know. I was there." He smiled at her gently, and she smiled gratefully in return.

She looked down at the photo of Sarah Koskoff again as a big wet tear hits the image that rolled down her cheek. She sniffled and wiped it as she said, "Oh. Look what I did."

Booth placed his hand over hers as he whispered, "It doesn't matter."

Brennan looked at him as she said, "It does. It matters."

Booth nodded at her, watching and understanding what she meant. He leaned into her and kissed her lips softly. He had just planned to kiss her, but soon Brennan deepened the kiss showing him that she wanted more. Booth gently picked her up by the waist and brought her against his body, her legs wrapping around his waist instantly. He carried her to their bed and gently placed her on top of the covers. He whispered to her as he hovered over her, "I'm here for you babe. I'm always here for you."

Brennan smiled lovingly through tear filled eyes. "I love you Booth. Now make love to me." Booth smiled at her as he leaned down to kiss her again as they both worked to get rid of each other clothing. After some time, they found each other naked as Booth looked down at his beautiful wife again. "I love you so much Bones." He gently swiped a stray lock behind her ear as she whispered urgently, "Show me." Booth then slowly entered her as he kissed her deeply. He started at a slow rhythm but soon that rhythm grew faster as both their climaxes came down on them together. Brennan cried out her release with tears rolling down from her eyes with pure acceptance at what she had done. Booth didn't look at her any differently, he still loved her. He had just shown her that, she was still a good person. Someone that could still be loved.

Brennan watched as Booth rolled off of her and scooped her up against his bare, hard chest. She snuggled deeply into him as he pulled their covers over their sated bodies. She sighed deeply as she let the final wave of acceptance come over her. That's when Booth remembered what he had bought her. He whispered softly as he reached into the nightstand, "I got something for ya."

Brennan laughed softly as she joked, "A bottle of hard liquor?"

Booth smiled as he wrapped his arm around her again and said, "The next best thing." He held out his hand, palm up revealing a small, plastic toy piglet. He held it close to her face and kissed her cheek as he chuckled, "Hmm? Meet Jasper."

Brennan looked at the pig. Her face softened even more. She gently grabbed the pig and turned over so she was facing Booth, placing a soft kiss on his lips and then smiled sweetly at him. Booth smiled back at her and whispered, "You're gonna be okay."

Brennan leaned her head against his chest and asked, "Yeah?"

Booth nodded as he brought her closer to him. "Definitely."

Brennan looked down at the pig in her hand for a moment, thoughtful, and then back at Booth. They smiled at each other as Booth gently took the pig and placed it on their nightstand, kissing her head softly as her eyes drifted closed.

* * *

 **Now most of you have heard that bones will be ending in 2017 at season 12, and most of you are really devastated by the news but to reassure you we can always be a big happy dysfunctional family which are called 'bonehead' I have posted a slideshow/video of B &B from beginning to end on Twitter I hope you like (Twitter Name - Bones_4_ever )**

 **Please Review**


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer - I don't anything that has 'bones' in it except my own bones**

* * *

 **Chapter 5 – The Truth in the Lye**

Booth was hungrily kissing Brennan as they both stripped each of other of their clothes. Booth had just toed off his pants, when they made it to their bed. They continued to kiss each other passionately as they lied down with Booth on top of Brennan. She raked her nails along his lower abdomen which caused Booth's body to instinctual rock forward, his boxer-clad arousal grazing her core making them both groan aloud. Brennan panted out, "Booth, I need you in me…now." With that she started to push down his boxers. He slowly started to kiss his way down her throat, sucking at her pulse. Brennan couldn't take the teasing anymore and decided to take things into her own hands. Literally. She wrapped her fingers around his arousal and squeezed.

Booth hadn't been expecting that and he bucked forward – which is what Brennan had wanted – and she guided him into her wet core. Booth dropped his head by her shoulder and said hoarsely, "Fuck Bones!" He had wanted to take things slowly, but now that wasn't even a thought. All he felt was how wet and tight she was around him and how he was having a hard time not coming right then from the sudden change. He started to move inside her, almost coming out completely each time, and then driving himself back in her – hitting her g-spot each time. Pretty soon he felt her walls start to clench around him. Brennan bit the side of his throat at the intensity of her climax that was coming. She quietly repeated his name, encouraging him to keep doing what he was doing. Booth lifted his wife's hips up just the slightest bit, causing his pelvis to hit her sensitive bundle of nerves each time.

Brennan unraveled after the second time he hit it. "Booth! Yes, Seeley!"

At the sound of his first name coming from her lips, Booth sucked hard on her pulse point and came inside her as well, his hot seed spreading in her womb. After regain motor function from that mind-blowing experience, Booth rolled off of her and looked at Brennan breathing heavily, "Wow! God, that was…Yeah, that was…"

Brennan looked at him and smiled with complete satisfaction, "Amazing."

Booth looked at her with a big smile. "And a huge mistake."

Brennan nodded her head as she laughed softly, "Huge."

Booth looked up at the ceiling as he regained his normal breathing pattern. "Huge."

Both started to put their clothes back on. Brennan was hooking her bra on when she asked, "Why do we keep doing this?"

Booth sat up and watched her brush her hair back away from her eyes as he told her, "Well, you know, we don't. I mean, what's it been? Twice in the past week?"

Brennan shook her head as she counted, "Three. Four, if you count that stakeout."

Booth pulled on his boxers as he snorted, "Okay, you know what? That wasn't sex."

Brennan gave him a look remembering very clearly what had happened, and how they had almost missed the suspect. "Maybe not for you. But… this is it."

Booth nodded in agreement. "You know what? You're right. But, I mean… it's not like we're doing anything wrong. I mean, we always get like this around our anniversary."

Brennan sighed as looked around the floor for her shirt from their bed, not being able to find it. "I know, but this isn't helping us. Everyone at work is wondering why I disappear in the middle of work. And now with Cam there, I have to be even more careful."

Booth nodded his head as he leaned into her, trying to kiss her lips again He murmured, "And that's why it's over. No more coming home for sex."

Brennan's lips grazed his as she nodded as well, "Done." At that moment Booth's cell phone rang and their doorbell rang as well.

They both groaned out loud as Booth told her, "That's mine."

Brennan nodded her head as she said, "Yeah. I'll get the door."

Booth however had already started to climb over her, causing him to fall off the bed as he grabbed his phone, "Ow. Oh. Ow!" Brennan swung her legs so that he was in between them as he answered, "Booth." Brennan slowly stood up as Booth silently kissed her abdomen. "Yeah." He watched as she shimmied passed him and picked up his discarded t-shirt from the floor and slipping it on as well as her own pants. That woman was going to be the death of him, "Address." He picked up a piece of paper and wrote down the as he hung up when he felt something vibrating against. He looked down and saw that it was Brennan's phone ringing. He was about to answer when she called out to him though, "Booth, Rebecca's here."

Booth grabbed his pants off the ground and pulled them on. He grabbed his phone as he ran out of their bedroom. He came up to the two women, who were talking to each other and smiling. "Hey, Becs. What's up?"

Rebecca turned to look at him and smiled. "I'm here to pick up the comic book you got for Parker. I thought I'd swing by before I picked him up from school."

Booth smiled as he nodded his head. "Sure. Let me just get it for you." He walked past them and placed his phone of the dining room table as he walked to Parker's room. He turned around as he remembered, "Oh, Bones. We have a case."

Brennan stopped talking with Rebecca and looked at him surprised. "We do? Was that what the call was?" Booth nodded his head as Brennan turned around to Rebecca, "I'm sorry, I have to get ready."

Rebecca waved it off though, "Oh, its fine. I understand. We'll talk later."

Brennan smiled gratefully at her as she hurried into the bedroom to get ready. Rebecca waited patiently for Booth to return when she heard his cell phone ring. She looked down at it and then back up. Not seeing anyone in sight, she gently picked it up and answered, "Uh- uh- Agent Booth's phone."

Cam looked at her own phone shocked to hear Rebecca's voice. "Oh, hi. It's Dr. Saroyan. Is Agent Booth… available?"

Rebecca looked around uncomfortable trying to stall until Booth came. "Uh, available?" She sighed in relief as she saw Booth walk out of Parker's room with a comic book in hand. "Yeah, Dr. Saroyan, here he is." She urgently handed him the phone as she took the comic book from his hand.

Booth looked at her confused for a second at how uncomfortable she looked as he answered, "Yeah, Cam. What's up?"

Cam tried to hide her own discomfort. Had she just caught those two… "Nothing, just seeing if you know where Dr. Brennan is. She didn't answer her cell phone and she isn't here, so the FBI called me tell let me know that we have a case."

Booth tried to play the whole thing off as nothing, even though he was freaking out a little inside. They had almost been caught! "Oh yeah. Um, I'm gonna pick up Bones right now. I was just gonna leave."

Cam spoke quickly, trying to get out of this awkward conversation. "Okay, bye."

Booth looked at Rebecca now seeing why she looked panicky. "You don't, uh, think she thought…"

Rebecca tried to reason with herself as well, when she said, "No. No, we have a child together. It's perfectly normal for us to…to be together."

Booth nodded his head, "Right, so I'll, uh, see you this Friday when I pick up Parker?"

Rebecca smiled slightly, still very uncomfortable as to how Cam sounded on the phone. "Yeah. And thanks for the comic. I'm sure Parker will love it."

Booth waved goodbye as she left the apartment. He had just closed the door when Brennan came out of their bedroom looking for her messenger bag. She looked up at him and sighed, "Booth, hurry up. I don't want my remains comprised."

Booth smiled at Bones as he hurried passed her, "Yes dear. And your bag is by the table." Brennan looked back at his retreating figure, still amazed that he could tell what she had been looking for.

~BONES~

They had just arrived at the scene and were exiting the car when Brennan said, "What do you mean, 'We almost got caught'? How?"

Booth sighed and rubbed his hand over his face. "Well, Cam got suspicious about you not answering your cell and then you not being in the lab. But I think she was more thrown off by Rebecca answering my cell phone."

Brennan sighed in relief, "Good."

Booth shook his head. "No, not good. Rebecca, she stopped by our place to pick up a comic that I got Parker."

Brennan nodded her head, confused as to why he was telling her something she already knew. "Okay."

Booth tried to explain, "She just so happened to pick up the phone. That's it. You know? Nothing more, nothing less."

Brennan looked at him with confusion visible across her features. "I'm sorry. Did I miss something here?"

Booth sighed. He was probably just over reacting. He just didn't want Rebecca to get caught in the little – well big actually – secret they were keeping. "Never mind." They then entered the crime scene and all conversation stopped when the smell hit them.

~BONES~

Cam explained to him, "Doing what the wallet can't. Right now, I'd say our victim's an ectomorph. Thin, linear, narrow features." She then smiled as she remembered her earlier call, "And I see you're back with your ex."

Booth looked at her trying to play dumb. "I'm sorry?"

Cam smiled even more at his reaction. "Rebecca, right? Reliving old times?"

Booth chuckled, not believing this conversation. He then glared at Zach, who was still standing there. Zach started to back away as he said, "Uh, I'll just keep sifting."

Booth smiled tightly as he nodded his and watched him leave, "Yeah." He then turned to Cam, "Why do you think that? Did you talk with Dr. Brennan?"

Cam sighed, "Oh, relax."

Booth narrowed his eyes, "You did, didn't you?" He knew that Brennan had been looking for a new ploy to stop any possible questions about their relationship. He just hadn't thought that she'd actually use his ex.

Cam smiled as she said, "We all have our weak moments."

Booth shook his head. "No. Mm-mm. We don't, okay?" He started to leave, but then turned around and said again, "I don't."

Cam rolled her eyes. She would never admit it aloud, but it had hurt a little to hear that he had gone back to his ex – the one which he had so many problems with – and not her. They had parted as friends, after all. She slyly told him, "Please, Seeley. Like we haven't shared enough of them for me to know better." They looked at each other for a few seconds. Cam chuckled as she saw Booth's eyes grow wide a little. Yep, she got him. Booth left, trying to figure a way out of whatever Cam wanted and not reveal to her his secret. He needed to protect Bones.

~BONES~

Brennan was examining something under a microscope as Booth sat on a chair behind her. He had just told her that she shouldn't be 'gossiping' about Rebecca like that. Brennan sighed, "I was not gossiping."

Booth looked at her incredulously, "Oh, really? So then what would you call it?"

Brennan shrugged, "Merely sharing a point of interest."

Booth shook his head as he got up and started to walk to her, "Great. So now what am I, huh? The world's largest ball of string?"

Brennan looked up and turned around to face him. "Not you," she leaned forward and whispered, "our behavior. It was a textbook example of just how helpless we higher primates can be to our biological urges."

Booth huffed softly, "I am not helpless. And this is exactly what I was talking about earlier. I didn't want Becs to be involved in our little secret."

Brennan sighed and turned back to the microscope as she said, "Well, you should have told me that. You know how I can't read people. Plus, Cam was the one that brought it up. I just made a round-about observation." She then stated, "He's not elderly."

Booth tugged at his sleeves, "I can control my, uh- Who?"

Brennan smiled slightly at her husband's behavior, "Our victim. You see these marrow cells? The lack of collagen indicates osteogenesis imperfecta. Brittle bone disease."

Booth shook his head, confused." And that's supposed to tell me he's not…old?"

Brennan shrugged, "Not necessarily." She then smiled deviously, "And if you're not helpless, then why did we rush home to have sex?"

Booth leaned in and whispered back, "Oh, as I recall, you're the one that called me."

Brennan smiled, "You didn't have to come, but I could hear it in your voice. You wanted to have sex with me."

Booth scoffed at that. "You didn't hear that in my voice. At least not when I answered. But of course I reacted to what you said to me. What sane man wouldn't!" He started to walk away, annoyed that Brennan was just playing this off as nothing. Rebecca seriously shouldn't be caught in the crossfire of what was their secret.

Brennan sighed softly, seeing that he was mad with her. "Well, it's nothing to be ashamed of, Booth." Booth turned around, fake smiling at her. "Humans act upon a hierarchy of needs, and sex is very highly ranked. It's an anthropological inevitability."

Booth was used to her talking like this, but today just wasn't the best time for it. "Thank you, Bones. I really appreciate you boiling me down to your anthropological inevitability."

Brennan nodded her head, not hearing his sarcasm, "Sure." She then thought of something, "You know, if our victim had brittle bone, there could be a web site of some kind. He might have been listed."

~BONES~

Angela looked up at her two friends, noticing how they were looking at each other and how quiet they were. "What's wrong?"

Brennan looked at her confused, "With what?"

Angela shrugged as she explained, "This is usually where I type and you talk. You two are never not talking."

Brennan tried to play off their little fight before they came in here, "Well, we're not not talking."

Booth looked at Brennan as he said, "Or maybe we're not not…not." He was still mad that Brennan had led Cam to believe he was sleeping with his ex.

Angela grinned at them as she said, "Okeydoke. Number of adult males with brittle bone in the metropolitan area is…zero- same with adult females. These are all kids."

Booth looked at the monitor and asked, "Why is that? High mortality rate?"

Brennan shook her head, "No. When O.I. is fatal, it's mainly to infants. And only in severe cases."

Booth started to make the connections, "So our guy has a mild case."

Brennan agreed with him, "Type 1. Near normal stature, fragile bones and joints, off-white sclera."

Angela looked thoughtful as she looked at the computer. "Is this disease hereditary?"

Brennan told her, "Mild cases can be. The more severe forms, types 2 and 3, are often the result of a genetic mutation."

Angela started to say, "But if our guy is type 1 and these kids got it passed on from a parent…"

Booth nodded his head, thinking the exact same thing. "Then all we have to do is contact these kids' families and find out which one is missing a dad."

Angela smiled as she said, "Well, let me print you the list."

Booth told her, "Print two. We'll split up." He didn't want to have an argument with Brennan so close to their anniversary. He just needed to cool off a little and collect his thoughts. Brennan however looked at him shocked. She then looked away with a clenched jaw, not being able to speak her mind in front of Angela.

~BONES~

Booth and Brennan were waiting for Charlie to bring in the other woman when Booth said softly, "You know I almost married her."

Brennan looked at Booth confused with the topic change. "Agent Curry?"

Booth gave her and exasperated look. "Rebecca. My ex."

Brennan's eyes widened in understanding as she slowly started to nod her head. "Oh. So, you can talk about her now."

Booth tried to make her see why involving Becs wouldn't be a good idea. "Yeah, she got pregnant. I wanted to do the right thing, but, you know, she said no."

Brennan nodded her head. "You've told me this before. Not that you've ever said why."

Booth shrugged his shoulders, not sure himself. "Well, issues with my job. She wanted to start her own career. She wanted to finish graduate school."

Brennan looked at him skeptically. "Alone with a baby?"

Booth shook his head. Leave it to Brennan to think with complete rationale. "Logic. Right? You're applying logic?"

Brennan looked at him seriously. She didn't understand why he was acting like this. Unless… "Do you still love her?"

Booth looked at her shocked this time. Why would she ask him that? He shook his head, "No. Not…like I did. Not like that."

Brennan sighed in relief, but she was even more confused now. "Then why can't it just be sex?"

Booth looked her straight in the eyes as he said, "There's nothing 'just' about sex, Bones."

Brennan felt a shiver go down her spine at his intense stare. She knew scientifically they all needed sex, so she went with that. "But all mammals need it. That release of serotonin. The rush of endorphins. Naturally, you would seek it with someone with whom you share a sexual rapport." Of course she also knew what Booth was talking about, but she tried to make him see where she was coming from.

Booth snorted at that, not believing that she didn't know what he meant. Because he knew that she knew what he meant. "Rapport, right. That's the word."

Brennan informed him, "I know when I was in need of a release…there was a former partner or two I'm sure I could have called."

Booth looked at her drily. He sighed, giving up at the moment to try and make her see why this was just bad. "Okay, Bones. Thanks so much. I feel so much better now, huh?"

~BONES~

Brennan was walking out of Booth's office when she saw Rebecca walking toward her. Rebecca smiled and said, "Hey, Temperance."

Brennan was surprised to see her there, but smiled and said, 'Rebecca, hi."

Rebecca pointed to his office and asked, "Is he in there? I need to ask him something."

Brennan looked back at the office and winced slightly, "He is, but, it's not a good time." She then sighed angry at herself for causing this tension between the two of them so close to their anniversary. "Not that my powers of discernment have ever been particularly sharp…vis-à-vis good times from bad, but in this instance, it's bad."

Rebecca laughed softly, "Just tell him to give me a call then."

Brennan nodded her head and Rebecca started to walk away. Brennan however got up the nerve to ask a question that had been bugging her since this argument started. "Hey." Rebecca stopped and turned around as Brennan started to walk up to her. "Can I ask you something? Why did you say no?"

Rebecca looked at her confused, "Excuse me?"

Brennan clarified, "When he asked you to marry him? I mean, he is an ideal candidate. Strong, alpha male, good protective instincts."

Rebecca always knew that Brennan was straight forward with her questions but this seemed like it was coming out of nowhere. "And I should discuss this with you why?"

Brennan sighed as she looked back at Booth's office. "It's just- I'm not sure he knows. And…I think it bothers him."

Rebecca didn't know what to say. She never thought about it bothering her ex before. Especially with how everything turned out for him. She sighed as she tried to put it into words. "I've always taken care of myself. To a fault, sometimes. And we got pregnant, Seeley proposed. But I didn't want to be one of those women who gets married out of need. So I said no."

Brennan thought about that for a second and agreed. "I can see that."

Rebecca nodded sadly as she thought back to how everything ended between her and Booth. "By the time that I realized I'd made a mistake… that I'd still be the same person- I think there's a moment for two people. A single moment where they can either catch fire or- Seeley and I, we missed our moment. Do you understand?"

Brennan nodded her head, she did understand that. Because she and Booth had had their moment and took it. However she told Rebecca something that she knew was bothering Booth, "I think Booth thinks you didn't marry him because he wouldn't make a good father."

Rebecca was taken aback by that statement. Had Seeley really thought that? "What?"

Brennan nodded her head as she told her, "He worries about it himself. What he does for a living. His past as a sniper."

Rebecca could now see what she had done in the past could make him think like that. She took in a deep breath, "Oh god. Uh, do me a favor? Don't tell him that I came by, okay? Please."

Brennan nodded her head as she watched Rebecca leave. Their conversation had been enlightening. Brennan could now see why Booth didn't want to involve Rebecca. They had almost caught fire, they had too much of a past for it to be just sex. She could see that now.

~BONES~

Booth hung up his cell phone as he drove. He told Brennan, "Roommate says she went to go meet some friends at the Beltway Burger."

Brennan looked at him and asked, "And you think it's this Chloe girl because…"

Booth explained to her, "Of the chopsticks, right? As soon as Cam said it, I knew it. Because when I went to go see Pete, she had chopsticks in the back of her hair. And how did Hodgins find out?"

Brennan looked at him confused by the last question, "I'm sorry?"

Booth shot her a look saying, don't mess with me. "'Yeah, I hear you're back with your ex.'"

Brennan shrugged her shoulders. "I don't know. I assume it was Cam. I was only trying to engage her in social intercourse."

Booth now had to look at her confused, "Excuse me?"

Brennan explained, "Just trying to be normal. Congenial exchange with a coworker. And if that's what gossip is, I don't like it at all."

Booth sighed. Cam really was making a mess of everything. "Yeah, you think you don't like it? I can't stand- There it is. Beltway Burger."

~BONES~

Rebecca called out, "Seeley." The two turned around and Brennan whispered to him, "I'll get the ball rolling."

Booth nodded his head as he watched his ex walk up to him. God he hoped she didn't get wind that a rumor was going around that they were sleeping together. "What are you doing here?"

Rebecca smiled, "I needed to know if you were gonna coach Parker's T-ball team this year."

Booth sighed in relief. Maybe he wasn't in trouble. "You know I always coach Parker's T-ball team."

Rebecca shrugged her shoulders. "I didn't wanna assume…"

Booth could tell that she wanted to talk about something else though. Something more serious. His heart started to race a little bit at that. He didn't want to have another blow out with her about Parker after them making so much progress the past few months. "Okay, whoa. What is going on here, Rebecca? Okay?" He pulled her into one of the conference rooms and slid the door shut.

Rebecca sighed as she looked around nervously. She didn't know how to start this conversation. She decided to just say it, "Seeley, all the excuses I gave you for not wanting to get married…my independence, your work…"

Booth looked at her confused. He knew, well sorta knew, all of this. "I know."

Rebecca shook her head, "No, you don't. You are a wonderful father. And Parker is a lucky kid. Such a lucky kid."

Booth looked at her taken aback by her words. Yeah, he had always wanted to hear it from her, but he never expected to. "Look, Rebecca I need to tell you something important. I don't want you to be hearing it from anyone else, okay? Just try not to be mad, please." Rebecca looked at him confused. She could see that her words had touched him and now he looked guilty. She nodded her head slowly, letting him know to continue. "The thing is, you remember why Bones and I have to keep our…relationship a secret, right?" She nodded her head again. He had even told her when everything happened to make sure Parker was safe and that for right now, the ones closest to him had to be kept secret. That's why he hardly ever talked about Parker at work or she even came to see him at work. Things had been dangerous back then. Booth continued, "Well, ever since then we've sorta made it look like we don't want to be together."

Rebecca could see that he was struggling with words. So she helped him along, "Just tell me Seeley."

Booth sighed and said, "Cam thinks that we're sleeping together again, and Bones may or may not have goaded that thought along. I tried to tell her that we weren't but, I don't know, she doesn't believe."

Rebecca smiled softly. "Well obviously, we still have feelings for each other. Do you still wanna marry me?"

Booth looked at her seriously, "Rebecca, you know I don't. I'm in love with my wife."

Rebecca nodded her head and smiled, "And I don't wanna marry you either. We missed our moment. I don't care what Cam spreads around. If it'll help keep you and Temperance together and safe, then I'm happy to help. Here are the forms for T-ball."

Booth sighed in relief and smiled softly at her, "Yeah. Thanks, Becs." Rebecca smiled at him one last time before she left. Booth watched her leave, relieved that she was okay with it.

~BONES~

Brennan looked up from her desk at Booth's silent figure. He looked…relaxed now. "So you never said how it ended up with Rebecca."

Booth looked up at her from his seat and stood up slowly, "Well, yeah, it ended well. I told her about what was going on here and she said she was fine with it. But the only time we'll ever spend together is with Parker."

Brennan smiled as she got up and walked toward him as well. "You sure that's what you want?"

Booth watched her for a moment and then whispered, "You know what, Bones? It might be all anthropology to you, but there are certain people that you just can't sleep with. I mean, you can pretend that it's just sex. You can lie to yourself, and you can say that it's all good. But, um, there's just…There's too many strings and…and too much at stake, you know? Too much to lose."

Brennan smiled at him as she came to stand in front of him, smoothing her hands down his jacket, "Yeah. I can see that. And I'm sorry that I started this whole thing. I now know what you're talking about. And if we should slip, I will…keep my mouth shut about it and just say that something more important…"she gave him a sly seductive look, "came up."

Booth groaned slightly at her implications, "Thank you. But, I mean, it's not like we're gonna…"

Brennan shook her head, "No, we are. We most definitely are. After all we have to satisfy our biological urges. Especially since we haven't made love through this whole case."

Angela entered the room with Hodgins and said slightly angry, "Please tell me these women are not going to jail." Brennan and Booth nearly jumped across the room from each other at their entrance. Booth turned around and tried to hide what their conversation had done to him.

Hodgins looked at Booth and Brennan with narrowed eyes, noticing Brennan's blush before he said, "After trying to bilk the insurance system, they'll get nothing less than a firing squad."

Angela had just taken their posture when they had walked in as two partners talking. Since Booth was in a relationship. She looked back at Hodgins angrily, "Not if they never filed a claim."

Hodgins pointed out, "Because our friends here caught them."

Booth finally was able to control his body as he turned around and said, "Well you're both kinda right. Given their kids and the circumstances, the D.A. is gonna offer probation provided that all three women show remorse and attend mandatory counseling."

Hodgins snorted at that, "In exchange for movie rights I hope. You know they're gonna get calls."

Angela smiled at him, "I hope so." She then turned to Booth and smiled, "Hey nice going by the way. Cam tells me your back with your ex."

Booth looked at her and then at Brennan. She knew that look, he was pissed. He looked back at Angela and said, "Cam." Angela nodded her head. Booth then asked, "Cam in her office?"

Angela inhaled loudly as he left the office. "I said something wrong."

Brennan grabbed her bag. That conversation would take some time and didn't feel like waiting. She looked at Angela and smiled, "Oh, would it be gossip if I told you?"

Angela smiled as they left the office. "I hope so."

~BONES~

Booth rolled off onto his side of the bed, "Wow. That was, uh…That was…"

Cam looked at him and offered, "Wicked?"

Booth looked at her with big eyes, "Yeah. And a huge mistake."

Cam laughed softly, not understanding his full meaning. "Not if we don't do it again."

Booth laughed slightly, "Deal."

Cam smiled deviously as she said, "Deal. Not after tonight, I mean."

Booth smiled as he leaned over her again, "Never again."

Cam closed the distance between them and whispered, "No." And then they kissed…

Brennan jolted awake from that horrible nightmare. She looked around, taking in her surroundings. She was in bed, with the light on and a book in her lap. Alone. She looked at the clock and it read that it was only 10:00 PM. She then saw that light as coming from underneath the closed door. Booth must have just come home, she thought. She looked down at her book and then up again at the door. Where had that dream come from? She knew Booth would never cheat on her, no matter how strong his biological urges were.

Brennan was trying to figure out why she had just dreamt that when Booth slowly opened the door. He hadn't been sure if Bones had been sleeping or not, but since he saw her sitting he smiled at her and said, "Hey, babe." At the look on her face though, he got worried. She looked distressed, "What's wrong Bones?" He came over to her and sat on the edge of the bed, cupping her face in between his big hands.

She looked at him dazed a little. She didn't understand why she was reacting like this. Anthropologically speaking, they weren't made to have just one mate. So why was she so upset over just the idea of Booth sleeping with someone else. She looked into his brown eyes, filled with worry for her. She knew that she loved him. Hell, she married him. But now… "Booth, I love you."

Booth smiled softly, confused where she was going with this. "I love you too babe."

Brennan shook her head, "No, I mean, I love you so much, that I can't even stand the idea of you with someone else. Why? We were made to have multiple partners, but I just get upset when I think of you with C…someone else." She had almost revealed her true thoughts right there.

But of course he had picked that slip up. "Bren, you know I would never cheat on you. Cam and I, we have a past, but that's it. A past. I told her after I left your office, that I wasn't sleeping with Rebecca and that I was in a serious relationship with someone else. She knows that I'm taken, okay Bones. Even if she did try something, I can't imagine myself with anyone else but you. I don't care what anthropology has to say on this matter. I was made to mate with one person and that is you. It just took me sometime to find you."

Brennan sighed heavily. It still disturbed her that she had such feelings about Booth. Did that mean that she too would have the same feelings toward other males? Would she not be attracted to them, even though she should? She didn't know, perhaps she needed to test it out. But at that moment all she wanted to do was show how much she loved her husband.

* * *

A/N: I know, I'm evil =P *evil laugh* *coughs* Erm. Review!


	6. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer - I don't own Bones**

* * *

 **Chapter 6 – The Girl in Suite 2103**

Booth and Brennan were in a bar interviewing Denise, a waitress. She told them, "Lisa wasn't scheduled to work last night. She just came in on her own as a customer, picked up a guy."

Booth leaned in slightly and asked, "You know anything about him?"

Denise thought about it for a few seconds before she answered, "Looked Hispanic. That's not P.C. to say, but you want details, right?"

Booth nodded his head encouragingly, "Um hmm."

Denise thought about it for a few more seconds when she said, "And it looked like he had money too."

Booth probed more, "How tall was he?"

Denise shrugged slightly and moved closer to Booth ever so slightly, "I don't know. He was sitting when I saw him. Look, Lisa was a good kid, but she used to scope the place for rich guys."

Brennan narrowed her eyes slightly at the woman's body posture and how she was leaning into Booth even more than before. She snapped at her slightly, "So she was a prostitute?"

Denise looked at her shocked. She had forgotten the woman was even there. She shook her as she said, "What? No, no. She was just like any of us."

Booth nodded in understanding as he smiled charmingly at her, trying to get more information. "Looking for a husband, right?"

Denise threw him a flirtatious smile and nodded slowly. "This guy last night—she zoned in on him real hard. Took him upstairs, you know, for privacy."

Booth noticed her lean into him slightly as he asked, "Upstairs where?"

Denise whispered conspiratorially, "The room that was being renovated. The…the one that caught on fire. I mean, it's against the rules, but we've all done it."

Booth chuckled at that. "Right." Brennan gave him look that she was not amused at the flirting nature between the two. Booth tried to conceal his newest smile at the glint of possessiveness that shone in her eyes.

Denise leaned in a little bit more, revealing her cleavage – or at least trying to. "I mean, why else work in a high-class place like this, right?"

Booth maintained constant eye contact with her though. "Yeah."

Brennan had had enough of this woman's outright flirting with her husband. She pointed out tersely, "Someone's trying to flag you down."

Denise turned to look behind her, surprised, "Oh." The bartender called her name out and she told them before she left, "Excuse me."

Booth turned to face Brennan as soon as the waitress left. "Looks like it's possible that Lisa went upstairs for a little," he clicked his tongue, "quickie and, uh, wandered into a nightmare."

Brennan looked at him not amused, "She was trying to get you to upstairs for a little," she knocked on the table and whistled softly which made Booth wave off.

He was about to tell that he was just working her to get more information when Denise came back up to them and pointed to a man, "Hey, that's the guy that Lisa was with."

Brennan observed the man for a few seconds before she told Booth, "Yeah, he looks like he can be six feet tall."

Booth nodded and said, "What do you say we go pay him a little visit?"

~BONES~

Cam was looking at some files walking as Booth trued catch up to her, so he could talk with her. "Cam? Cam. Has anyone said anything to you about, um…" He then whispered, "You know?"

Cam prompted, "Us sleeping together?"

Booth whispered vehemently, "You gotta be way more careful about blurting that out. Ok, voices, they carry in a building like this."

Cam laughed softly and shook her head, "There's no one around, and you brought it up."

Booth sighed. He wanted to make everything perfectly clear with Cam, "Well, I mean, Angela is practically psychic about this kind of stuff, right? What we had happened a long time ago. So you can't be thinking about me when, you know, she's around. Especially, not naked."

Cam still hadn't seen this mysterious woman, so she thought she still might have a chance with him. She smirked as she said, "I'll do my best."

Hodgins appeared behind them and said, "Onyx, peridot and Peruvian opal." Cam and Booth paused as if they had been caught doing something bad. Booth hoped Hodgins hadn't heard any of that conversation. Hodgins continued, "Probably jewelry. It's an unusual combination, very expensive."

Booth turned around and tried to act nonchalantly, "Yeah, well, Lisa Winokur…I mean, she was a waitress. You know, I highly doubt that her tips would be able to cover expensive jewelry."

Booth seriously hoped Hodgins didn't hear anything, but the way he was looking at them. Well, crap.

~BONES~

Angela was at the computer looking at footage of the Ramos the night of the party. Brennan, Cam and Booth were standing behind her, as Booth tried to process the murder weapon, "A golf tee? That makes no sense."

Angela squinted her eyes trying to see whatever it was that her friend was looking for. "I'm not sure what we're looking for."

Cam offered, "A sharp implement."

Angela zeroed in on Ramos' pocket, "He has a pen in his pocket."

Booth shook his head, "Wait, how would he force a pen through her back with his foot?"

Brennan looked at the pictures and asked something that stuck out to her, "Judge Ramos is 5 foot 9?"

Angela looked at her confused, "Yeah."

Brennan pointed out, "Why is she the same height as her husband?:

Angela zoomed in on the Judge's feet. "Three-inch stiletto heels."

Brennan nodded her head, now seeing what happened, "We assumed the killer was six feet tall and a he. But what if it was a 5-foot-9 woman wearing three-inch heels? I mean, could Judge Ramos have driven her heel into Lisa Winokur's back as she strangled her?"

Booth sighed as it came to him as Hodgins came into the room, "The judge finds out that the waitress is having sex with both her husband and her son, trying to get pregnant. That's motive for murder."

Angela looked over some more images and pointed out, "Also, before the fire, she had a beautiful silk wrap on. Afterwards, it's gone."

Hodgins threw his hands up in the air as it finally made sense, "That's what she used to strangle Lisa Winokur."

Booth paced, frustrated, "Great. It was Judge Ramos. She did it, very compelling evidence. Excellent, but you know what? Too bad, it's useless." He sat down in the nearest chair in frustration.

Cam tried to offer him something. "Unless we can find a way to make Judge Ramos waive her diplomatic immunity."

Booth sighed, "How are we gonna do that?"

Cam leaned down and placed her hand at the beck of Booth's neck and whispered, "Go grab a cup of coffee." Hodgins and Angela noticed the exchange. "I'll figure it out."

As Cam left, Booth bolted out of his seat, feeling slightly uncomfortable how Cam just slightly flirted with him. He looked at his wife and smiled, "Get some pie, Bones? Let's get some pie."

Brennan looked at him confused, "Pie? Why are we having pie?"

Booth kept rambling though, trying to tell himself that he did nothing wrong. "Cherry pie. Not too tart, not too sweet."

Hodgins and Angela exchanged looks as they left, misinterpreting the interaction completely. Hodgins smiled and nodded his head at Angela's wide eyes, "Oh, yeah, baby. That's what I'm talking about."

Angela couldn't believe it. "Wow." Poor Brennan.

~BONES~

Brennan and Booth were at their usual table at the diner as Brennan said while she ate her piece of cake – Booth knew she didn't like pie, but just hadn't accepted it yet, "A woman like Judge Ramos, who stood up to the drug cartels, who always did the right thing…it's hard to imagine her killing another human being."

Booth sighed. He knew Brennan always had a hard with the psychological viewpoint, "Bones, she's a strong woman. That's why she stood up to the cartels and lived on after her daughter was killed. Hey, look, her point of view…Lisa Winokur was threatening her family, so she snapped."

Brennan looked at him concerned, "Will she get away with it?"

Booth nodded as he leaned back and draped his arm across the back of her chair. "Yeah, I think she will."

Cam approached their table and sat down across from Brennan, "Ok, we all got together—well, Zack wouldn't help until I threatened him. But the rest of us… The blow-back patterns shows that Lisa Winokur's killer was six feet tall. Antonio Ramos is six feet tall. Lisa Winokur had sex immediately before her demise, DNA tests show it was with Antonio Ramos. Lisa Winokur was strangled with a silk ligature, Antonio Ramos favors silk ties."

Brennan looked at her in shock, "Why are you manipulating the facts to make it sound like Antonio was the killer?"

Booth squeezed her arm and told her, "No, it's ok, Bones. Let her…let her continue."

Cam nodded as she continued, "Because of his broken arm, Antonio Ramos was forced to place his foot on Lisa Winokur's back, damaging her vertebrae."

Brennan couldn't believe what she was hearing, "You are fabricating a scenario by misrepresenting the evidence and omitting key facts."

Cam sighed as she told her, "It's a bluff. Cops do it all the time."

Booth leaned forward and said, "So you think if we frame Antonio, Judge Ramos will confess to save her own son."

Cam smiled as she leaned forward to, "What mother wouldn't?"

Booth looked back at Brennan and asked, "Bones?"

Brennan replied vehemently, "No, no."

Cam tried to explain it to her, "It's no different than lying to a criminal to get a confession."

Booth also told her what they did was wrong, "Or having Hodgins call the FAA with a fake terrorism tip."

Cam asked in shock, "He did what?"

Booth looked at her exasperated, "Oh, what? Now suddenly there's a line here?"

Brennan looked at Booth, "You can't allow this."

Booth nodded his head in agreement, "I'm a hundred percent against it."

Cam tried to appeal to him, "Seeley, you hate diplomatic immunity."

Booth told her honestly, "Well, I'm against it when it's interfering with my murder investigation but the world's bigger than that."

Cam looked at him confused, "What are you talking about?"

Booth explained, "We cheat diplomatic immunity here in DC, we catch a murderer. That's great. They do it in 'Upper Kamikazestan' and our boys end up on a red-hot spit over a slow fire."

Brennan whispered to him, "There's no such place as 'Kamikazestan.'"

Booth shot her a look and contined, "Ok, bottom line is, we ignore diplomatic immunity and the rest of the world finds out, it's open season on Americans. So you know what? Thanks for the effort and the fake file." He took the file and ripped it in half, "But let's just remember, all right? We're the good guys. Oh, I'm gonna need that real evidence file too."

Cam nodded her head and said before she got up and left, "Okay."

~BONES~

Brennan was standing against the railing up in the lounge watching as the rest of her team and Cam worked on the platform below. Booth slowly approached Brennan and stood next to her against the railing, "Well, look at 'em down there, huh? Heh! Probably falsifying evidence."

Brennan looked at him and told him seriously, "I'm not sure I can totally trust Dr. Saroyan after that."

Booth sighed. He didn't want those two to be at wars with each other. He would always stick to his wife, but Cam was a good friend. "You know, Bones, Cam's a cop at heart. She, uh—she just wants to catch the bad guys. There are a lot of gray areas."

Brennan told him honestly, "Not for you, you did the right thing."

Booth tried to shrug it off as nothing, "Yeah, it worked out is all."

Brennan rested her head against his shoulder and whispered, "You did the right thing. That's one reason why I love you."

Booth smiled and kissed her head as a couple of men in suits approached the platform below. "Uh oh." The two men in suits approached Hodgins and showed him their badges.

Brennan watched in amusement and worry, "Well, shouldn't we do something?"

Booth scoffed at that idea, "Are you kidding?" The men started to lead Hodgins away as Booth said, "Hodgins being abducted by men in black? That's a dream come true." They watched as Hodgins looked up at them and smiled.


	7. Chapter 7

**Disclaimer - I don't own bones**

* * *

 **Chapter 7 – The Girl with the Curl**

Cam came up to the table and stood in between Hodgins and Booth as she asked, "Everything okay here?"

Booth had been weary of Cam's intentions ever since the Ramos case. So he took an immediate step away from Cam, his voice overly casual, "Yeah. Sure. Hey." Brennan looked up and frowned slightly at how Booth was acting, he never acted like that before with Cam. Booth continued to look at the table as he asked, "You know? How're things?"

Cam looked at Booth with a small smirk at how uncomfortable, thinking that she was finally getting to him. She answered just as casually, "You know, murder and stuff. Just another day at the office. How 'bout you?"

Booth folded his arms across his chest, avoiding eye contact with her as he said, "Same old, same old." Cam glanced at Hodgins, who was watching both Booth and Cam with mild amusement. Booth kept talking though, his gaze firmly planted on the remains, "Listen, the bureau's, ah, running location checks for registered pedophiles in the area, but we can't do much until we, uh, you know, I.D. the girl."

Cam glanced at Booth one last time, before turning her attention to Hodgins, "I'm running DNA on the hairs I pulled from the skull." Cam shook her head in frustration as Angela came up to the group, "There's something funky about it. The roots confirm brown hair - the blonde is from oxidized thiols evident in the hair shaft."

Brennan straightened from where she was hunched over, examining the body, and Hodgins looked to Cam, his expression turning serious as he asked, "Her hair was bleached?"

Booth didn't know what to make of that information, "Wait. Come on, what nine-year-old dyes her hair?"

Angela sighed as she told them, "Well, that might explain why my sketch isn't getting any hits from the missing children's database."

Brennan looked back down at the remains and then told her assistant, "Zach, look at the remains again with a focus on any physical anomalies that could hamper identification."

Cam gestured in the direction of her office as she subtly let Booth know where she was going to be, "I've got results cooking, so…"

Booth still avoided eye contact with Cam, as she walked away. "Sure. Yeah, see you later." Hodgins and Angela exchanged amused, knowing glances until Booth glared at Hodgins. "Don't you have … work to do?"

Hodgins was not intimidated, thinking he knew why Booth was so uncomfortable. "Don't you?"

Booth mock-laughed at that, "Right." He nodded slowly, as the unamused smile left his face. He really didn't want to deal with all this drama right now. "Right." Hodgins watched with a grin, and Angela tried not to laugh, as Booth walked away and toward Brennan. He leant into her and whispered, "I'll see you later for lunch." He wanted so badly to just kiss her in front of everyone to let them all know the truth. But he refrained and settled for whispering, "I love you."

Brennan looked up at him surprised by what he said. They never, well at least tried not to, show or say anything while at work that could give them away. Something was wrong and she didn't know what.

~BONES~

Angela sat on the couch in Brennan's office as she fiddled absently with a necklace and appeared upset. Brennan came into her office and headed straight for her desk, picking up some binders, when Angela said, "Hodgins asked me out."

Brennan whirled around, startled to find Angela sitting there. She gave her a look before bending back down to retrieve her paperwork as she asked, "Is that why you're hiding in here?"

She straightened and turned to face Angela as she told Brennan, "I'm not hiding. I need advice."

Brennan looked at her surprised, "What - on a personal matter?"

Angela smiled slightly, "Yes."

Brennan still didn't know how to respond to that. "From me?"

Angela nodded insistently, "Yes."

Brennan still couldn't believe it. "But romance is sort of," she held up her hands, trying to find the right words, as she walked over to sit in a chair across from Angela, "This is like me asking you advice on phylogenetic systematics."

Angela furrowed her brow, "Phylogenetic systematics. I have no idea what that is."

Brennan smiled slightly. What she had with Booth was beyond romance. They had a connection that sometimes she didn't even understand. "Exactly."

Angela sighed, "Well, I can't ask Cam."

Cam walked into Brennan's office and asked after she heard the last part of their conversation, "Can't ask Cam what?"

Brennan shrugged and said casually, "Oh, Hodgins asked Angela out on a date."

Angela looked at her wide eyed, "Brennan!"

Brennan looked at her innocently and asked, "What? Was it a secret?" At Angela's look, she turned to Cam and said, "It was a secret."

Angela gave Brennan a disapproving, 'thanks a lot, big mouth' kind of glance. Cam ignored them both, taking a businesslike step forward, as she said, "I just came to ask if you'd made any progress on the cellulose." She raised her eyebrows at Angela, who groaned.

Angela sighed and slumped back into the couch, "No."

Cam nodded her head, "Okay." With that she started to leave.

Angela looked at her back desperately, "Wait." Cam stopped short in the doorway as Angela pleaded, "You can't pretend you didn't hear about this."

Cam sighed, "Fine." She walked back into the room and sat down eagerly, getting comfortable. "What'd you tell him?"

Angela looked at her like it was obvious, "'No.'"

Cam looked at her surprised, "Why?"

Brennan told her what she knew Angela was thinking, "Because it would be a disaster."

Angela looked at Brennan incredulously, "All of a sudden, you have an opinion on this?"

Brennan shrugged as she thought about it for a second. Should she speak her feelings or not? This was a perfect opportunity to trick everyone about her standing. "You should never indulge in a romantic relationship with someone you work with."

Cam looked at Brennan with a mildly amused smile crossing her face. "Why not?"

Brennan stated, "Well, anthropologically…"

Angela looked pained at those words, "There's an anthropological answer?"

Brennan nodded slowly, "An efficient workplace is predicated upon a simple hierarchy. Romance undermines that hierarchy." Brennan pondered a moment at how if she and Booth never knew each other before they worked together that hierarchy would be completely thrown. But since they knew each other beforehand and what each other's stand was, they never had that problem. Unlike… "This is like when I had an affair with my thesis supervisor in college."

Cam smiled at Brennan, seeing that she didn't have to worry about whatever was between her and Booth. "Don't think we have time for that." She turned to Angela and told her, "I say go."

Angela looked at her worriedly, "What about this hierarchical-sexual…?"

Cam waved her hand nonchalantly, "Won't be an issue. It's always fun to flirt in the workplace. But out there, when fantasy becomes a reality, it's a drag."

Brennan looked at Cam confused, "What? The date will be bad?"

Cam was certain of that. "It will be awful. You'll both realize it's not meant to be. There'll be a couple of days of awkwardness, and then everything goes back to normal."

Brennan knew that she would have told Angela to go. She had learned over the years that if you had a problem about saying no, then you should do it. However, she knew it wouldn't end badly. "If I were you, I'd go with Cam on this one."

Cam looked pleased yet surprised by Brennan's admission, "Why?"

Angela rolled her eyes, smiling, "Phylogenetic systematics." Cam looked bewildered at that statement, missing something important obviously.

Brennan smiled softly at Angela as she stood. "I have to go to dance class." She left her office thinking of how she was very happy that she was married to Booth.

~BONES~

The two walked into the pageant dance class that had been going on in a magnificent hotel ballroom. A class of young girls danced while Brennan and Booth walked past several groups of students and a grand piano, stopping to stand and watch all the activity from the side of the room. Booth sighed as he told Brennan, "Jackie Swanson's alibi checks out. She was in the bar when Brianna disappeared." He lowered his voice, his jaw clenching slightly, "Can't we just prosecute her for being horrible?"

Brennan squeezed his hand gently as looked to a woman in a white button-down shirt, black leotard and dance skirt. The woman was slowly weaving her way through the class, directing each of the dancing girls. "That the dance teacher?"

Booth looked in the direction she was looking in and nodded, "Yeah. That's, uh, Charlotte Craft. She owns the studio. She also runs the Junior Miss Patriot Pageant. I mean, she's gotta be able to give us something, right?"

They started to make their way over to the side of the room where the teacher was as Brennan told Booth, "I always wanted to take dance, but I was so … gawky and uncoordinated."

Booth chuckled softly at that. "What? You?" He put his hand on her shoulders as he gently steered her to a row of chairs against the wall, some occupied by parents watching their kids dance.

Brennan kept talking and followed where he guided her, the whole time Booth looked out for her and put his hand on her arm to make sure she didn't get knocked down or disrupt the students' dancing. "Later I understood that the gawkiness was caused by an asymmetrical development of the iliac crest."

Booth rolled his eyes playfully as he dropped his hands to her waist, "Oh, yeah. Because you know what? That's what I would've guessed." He squeezed her hips softly as they sat down, "The old, uh, iliac … crest."

A woman, who was sitting two chairs away from them, turned to introduce herself with a wide, proud smile, "Hi. Which one's yours?"

Both Brennan and Booth stared blankly at the woman, not understanding her. Booth said, "Hmm?" As Brennan leaned forward a little, "Which what is what? What? Mine?" She glanced at Booth, "Ours?"

Booth gestured to Brennan, stunned, "Ours? Oh no, we don't have any children." He whispered underneath his breath so the woman couldn't hear him, "Yet." That brought a glare from Brennan. Booth smiled charmingly at her as he pulled his badge out to show the woman, "F.B.I." Brennan wanted to tell that was never going to happen, but she decided to save that for later. They were working.

~BONES~

Brennan and Booth were walking along the sidewalk, eating ice cream. Brennan was very surprised by the bars, "Well, they carry Milk Blast Bars. That's a start. These are good."

Booth smiled widely as he laughed softly, "Are you kidding me? Babe, these are God's food, right here." Brennan shook her head amused as Booth told her, "So the F.B.I., uh, forensic units are … sweeping the culverts near the hotel. So I figured, you know, while we were waiting, we'd just, uh, go … have a look around."

Brennan leaned into him and looped her arm around his as they walked and rested her against his shoulder. She would savor the moment while it lasted, because once they found what they were looking for everything would go back to business.

~BONES~

Brennan, wielding a plastic knife, sat with Booth at the table in the lounge area of the Jeffersonian as she cut the last bit of glazed doughnut into pieces. "This is what happened when Rome fell."

Booth speared a doughnut from the nearby box and held it up with one finger as he smiled playfully at her, "What? Uh, people ate stale doughnuts?"

Brennan shook her head with a small smile on her face from his silliness as she told him, "Objectification of women, beauty as self-esteem."

Booth returned the pastry to the box and licked the icing off his fingers as he tried to look on the bright side, "Well, I think, um, you know, some of those kids actually had a good time."

Brennan nodded, "The girl in the pink could really dance. But then again, Nero could really play the fiddle."

Booth looked at her seriously as he told her, "You know, Bones, I like to think that, um, someplace deep inside, people really know what's important."

Brennan sighed. She hoped that. "It's hard to believe when you see women trying to disguise or change themselves." She popped another piece of doughnut into her mouth as she said, "I never understood that."

Booth smiled as he leaned forward, "Well, I mean, no, of course you wouldn't." He ducked his head, to stop himself from kissing her.

Brennan's brow furrowed as she tried to understand his meaning, "Why?"

He lifted his head and stared forward, formulating his words, not quite looking at her, not immediately. She really didn't know how breath-takingly beautiful she was. "Well, it's just, you know," he looked into her eyes, "someone who looks like… you… well, wouldn't. Just because of the way you look."

Brennan shook her head confused, "I don't understand. What…way do I look?"

Booth smiled faintly at her words. "Well, you know, you're…" He decided to use her words, "You're structured very well."

Brennan looked down, considering that. She smiled back at him as she leaned forward and whispered, "As are you."

Booth smiled affectionately at her leaning in to kiss her, but the expression faded when he looked to the level below to make sure no one was there and he saw Cam, briefcase in hand, on her way out. She lifted her head toward the platform and saw him sitting with Brennan. Booth groaned quietly as his eyes shifted from Cam down to the table, then back to Brennan for a flash of a moment, before he looked his eyes down at the table again. Brennan was still smiling, but when she heard Booth groan, she asked worriedly, "You okay?"

Booth tried to play it off as nothing. He smiled happily at her, "Yeah." However he couldn't lie to her, not about this. "It's just," he looked down at the table summoning the courage to say it, "I think Cam wants to start something with me and I can't seem to emphasize enough that I'm not available. I don't know if I can keep our secret from her."

Brennan was surprised to hear that. She had seen that Cam wanted to mate with Booth, but she hadn't known that she actually made a move on him. "Oh." She nodded slowly, "So what do you want to do?"

Booth's shoulders tensed at that thought and he shot a look to where Cam had been standing in the doorway, watching him. She smiled flirtatiously at him. Booth looked to Cam for a long guilty moment, uncertain, and then glanced down and away. Cam said nothing. Still smiling, she turned and gracefully exited the building letting him know exactly what she thought by the sway of her hips. Booth turned back to Brennan. "I think that I need to make it clear to her that there's no chance with me."

Brennan looked at him under her eyelashes as she asked him quietly, "Is that what you want? Is that what you really want Booth?"

Booth squatted in front of her bringing her to the edge of her chair as he whispered, "Bones, you are the only woman I ever want for the rest of my life. What we have could never be found with any other woman, even if I tried. Now how about I order some takeout and I ditch these doughnuts? Hmmm. We can work on the paperwork."

Brennan smiled as her eyes shined. She leaned down and kissed his lips softly before she whispered, "Sure."

Booth didn't move his face still close to hers. She smiled at him again and he tilted his head, smiling back, as they seemed to read each other's minds. They said at the same time, "Thai food?" They both laughed softly, their lips meeting again. This kiss however was filled with passion and want. They gave and took from each other. Soon Brennan felt herself being lifted up and immediately wrapped her legs around Booth's waist as he pushed the plate of the cut up doughnut out of the way as he placed her on the table. Brennan snaked her hands under his shirt and felt his muscles flex under her touch. She mumbled against his lips, "What about the paperwork and Thai?"

Booth mumbled something incoherent in response, not really caring about those things at the moment. But he knew that Brennan was right. They needed to order food, because they were definitely going to be hungry later on. He grabbed his cell phone from his pocket and kissed her one last, passionate time before he broke apart from her and leaned up. He smiled down at her flushed face and swollen lips as he said huskily, "This time, I'm ordering extra mee krob because you ate it last time. All of it."

Brennan laughed softly as she sat up, to kiss along his neck as she told him, "What? I thought you were done."

Booth tried to find the number in his phone, but was distracted by her actions. He laughed huskily, "Oh, right. I was done?"

Brennan nodded emphatically as she scraped her nails down his back, "Yeah."

Booth moaned, as he pressed into her. "You finished all of it."

Brennan groaned herself at the feeling of how hard he was already, her core wetting even more so, as she pressed even more into him, "I did not. You were pretty focused on the fried rice."

Booth wanted the fabric that was separating them gone, now. He kissed her feverishly before he let her go and moaned out, "Can we just order? Okay?"

Brennan started to work on his jeans as she said, "Fine." She watched him find the number and call the place as she slowly took her shirt off. His eyes darkened to a near black as pushed his pants down to his knees and wrapped her legs around him again. God he hoped the person would answer the damn phone already.


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8 – The Woman in the Sand**

Brennan started to pack up her things as she saw that Booth had everything covered here. "You get on that, I'll fly these remains back to the Jeffersonian."

Booth looked at her surprised. They had a chance to be away from everyone at the lab and she wanted to go back! "Whoa. Okay, whoa. We can't leave."

Brennan stopped her packing and looked at him confused, "We can't?"

Booth shook his head. "No I mean we came for one body and suddenly there's two. Hey look, what if there's more?"

Cam spoke up from the webcam, "Just ship both sets of remains here. Along with bugs, dirt, the works. If there's a forensic link to those murders we'll find it."

Brennan looked at Booth's pleading eyes and then back at Cam, sighing in defeat. "As long as you keep me in the loop."

Cam snorted at that thought, "As if we could actually keep you out."

Booth closed the laptop and rubbed his hands together excitedly. "Okay. Alright. Fine. So that's the deal. Box them up and we'll go break the news to Big Don."

~BONES~

Booth and Brennan were walking through the casino when she spotted the loan shark. "Hey. There's our loan shark, let's go!"

Booth stopped as he took everything in. He grabbed Brennan's arm to stop her as he took in a deep breath, "Okay, just uh…give me a moment."

Brennan turned around and saw his pale face and then remembered, "Oh my god! I completely forgot! You can't be here Booth. You're a degenerate gambler."

Booth glared at her slightly as he controlled his breathing. "Former gambler, okay? Not degenerate, I been through the program, okay, and you know what? He's on the move." He watched as the loan shark started to walk away.

Brennan knew that he had gone through a lot of ups and downs when he had been in the program. She had been his support through it all. She gently grabbed his arm and whispered, "Okay but what if you got a sudden urge to gamble while you're here? I mean it's like sending an alcoholic to a distillery. Do you need to sit down?"

Booth shook his head as he looked around at all the people. "No. I'm fine it's just, you know, the sound of the winning. It'll...it'll pass."

Brennan being ever the literal person asked confused, "What? The sound or the winning?"

Booth started to walk slowly, holding onto Brennan's hand tightly until the sensation to play passed. "This kind of reminds me of the first time. I walked in the Desert Inn with 35 bucks in my pocket and I walked out with a cool 10 grand. The next night, I lost everything. Tapped out my ATM trying to get it back."

Brennan looked around and took in everything as well. She had never been into a casino before. It was fascinating. She looked at one table and was intrigued, "Wha-What's that game called again?"

Booth looked in the direction that she pointed and said, "Craps."

Brennan turned to him wide eyed, "What? What's the matter now?"

Booth chuckled softly at her expression. "No, it's the game. It's called Craps. You know, hey, this used to be my game, Bones. Roll them bones, chuck the dice, you know. Seven Eleven." He watched in agony as the dealer cleared the table. He then looked up and saw the loan shark, "And he's going for the bar. Okay, you stay here. I know how to talk to these guys."

Brennan held onto his hand though, stopping any further progress. "Whoa. Talk? You can barely breathe."

Booth turned around, thankful for her concern for him, and squeezed her shoulders, "I'm fine just trust me alright. Wait here."

Brennan watched him leave when she yelled out, "And do what, exactly?"

Booth turned around and smiled widely, "You're an anthropologist, observe the culture baby!" Brennan looked around to see what she could when another table fascinated her.

~BONES~

Booth and Brennan were sitting at a table in the casino's food court discussing the case, "Why would anyone fight illegally in the first place?"

Booth shrugged his shoulders as he told her, "You know, there's limited options. Not everybody can be Oscar de la Hoya."

Brennan looked at him confused. She had no clue what that was. "Who?"

Booth listed off reasons why people had to fight, "Injuries, criminal pasts, failed drug test- alright, it leaves them with no other skills, so they take on a fight wherever they can find one."

Brennan still didn't get it though. "Even if it kills them?" Her phone rang before Booth could answer though, "Brennan."

Hodgins voice came over the speaker phone, "I found something in the particulates from Billie's shoes. Traces of hexavalent chromium. It's a chemical used in high end automotive shops, specializing in chroming. Mechanics who use them have to file reports for the EPA."

Brennan slapped Booth's hand as he tried to reach for something. Booth rubbed his hand softly from the sting, "Ow! What?"

Brennan looked at Booth sternly, like he had just been caught with his hand in the cookie jjar before dinner. "Hey, no gambling!"

Hodgins laughed softly at their conversation, "Am I interrupting something?"

Booth slumped back in his chair, "It's just Keno, alright? I'm sorry if Hodgins lost me at, uh, hexifalium chromo."

Brennan glared at him, before softening her look to one of concern as she went back to business, "Hexavalent chromium and we need to find some. How can we contact the Environmental Protecting Agency?"

Hodgins told them before he hung up, "Yeah, I'm on it."

Brennan looked at Booth for a few minutes in silence. Booth finally couldn't take it. "I'm fine Bones, really. With you here, I'm good." Brennan sighed slightly. Out of relief or concern she wasn't sure yet, but she nodded her head at his words.

~BONES~

Booth was getting ready while Brennan was dressing in the bathroom. She came out in a black dress that she had picked out early at the store, "Hey, what do you think?"

Booth looked up at her and sighed, "I have enough Bibles, thank you, but try next door."

Brennan looked down at her dress confused, "You said I could be a school teacher."

Booth shook his head amused. "Not the spinster kind who lives with his sister but ya know, the hot one who makes the boys crazy. Here, put on the one that I picked out for you."He handed her the dress as he slapped her butt playfully when she turned to put that one on. "Alright?"

Brennan turned her head to glare at him. "Ok, but don't be so bossy." She walked back into the bathroom then.

Booth smoothed his hair as he got himself set. "We're newlyweds, I said. Takin' Sin City by storm. Ready for action."

Brennan called out from the bathroom, "But you know, marriage is such an archaic institution…"

Booth rolled his eyes and chuckled, "And yet you married me." He heard Brennan huff in frustration because she knew he was right. "Listen Bones, I know what I'm doing. Okay? I've done this before. Just stop arguing."

Brennan called out from the bathroom, "I'm not. It's just, you know I don't need a piece of paper to prove my commitment. However, I found that I liked the idea of marriage."

Booth smiled as he looked at himself in the mirror, "Fine. We're engaged."

Brennan still said though, "Why would I be okay with engagement? You know how I hated it when you called me your fiancée."

Booth was the one to sigh then, "Whatever, Bones, alright? We're a loosely committed couple of hot high rollers. See, with money to burn. Cause that is what's gonna get us in the door."

Brennan came out of the bathroom in a stunning little black dress. She knew she was hot and she really wanted to tease Booth. "Like this?"

Booth turned around and just stared at his wife. He swallowed hard, "Yeah. Yeah, just like that." Brennan twirled in a little circle, showing off all her curves. He closed the distance between them in one step and pressed her against him. He whispered huskily, "You are so fuckin' hot Bones." That sent a shiver up her spine. It intensified when Booth started to trail hot, open-mouthed kisses down her neck as Brennan moaned, encouraging. He was just starting to unzip the dress the rest of the way down, when Brennan's phone started to ring. He huskily told her, "Don't answer that babe."

Brennan let out a low sort of growl of frustration, "It might be the lab."

Booth pushed her down onto their bed and said gruffly, "It probably is. But they can leave a message."

Brennan shook her head as Booth descended on her breasts. "It could be important." She then reached blindly for her phone which she knew was on the bed. She looked at the caller ID and answered, "Hey, Cam."

Cam put the phone on speaker and started to speak, "Dr. Brennan. Judging by the angle of the blows, Billie's last opponent was 5'6" and left handed."

Angela added, "With a fist size of approximately 90mm. Zack measured."

Booth hiked up her dresses to reveal her lacy black underwear that was soaked through. Booth looked up into Brennan's dark blue eyes and blew lightly, which caused a shot of electricity to go up and down her spine. He watched her eyes close and bite her lip to hold back a moan. He gruffly said, "That's hot." He then brought down her underwear completely.

Angela was shocked to hear that, to say the least. That was Booth's voice and he sounded… She finally choked out, "Hot? Wait a minute, what's hot?"

Brennan tried to cover for them, "Ah, nothing." Booth then stuck his tongue within her folds. Brennan pressed her phone against her chest as she let out a moan. She then brought the phone back to her ear and said breathlessly and quickly, "Vegas. Vegas…" Booth stuck his tongue even deeper and pressed his thumb against her sensitive nerves, "is hot. It's…" he inserted two fingers, "very hot here."

Cam and Angela gave each other looks at Brennan's breathless voice. Could that be? And then they heard Brennan's rushed, "I have to go." And then the line was dead.

Brennan's walls started to contract and everything else was pure bliss. They were so going to be late.

~BONES~

Booth and Brennan entered the gym, dressed to impress as Brennan tripped slightly not used to wearing such high heels, "How does anybody actually walk in these things?"

Booth smiled charmingly as he said, "Well, ya know. Them boots? They ain't made for walking sweetheart." Booth slapped Brennan's butt playfully.

Brennan leaned more into and whispered huskily, "Okay, that was completely over the top."

Booth nibbled on her earlobe as he whispered, "Alright, you know, you play your part and I'll play mine."

Brennan tried to distract herself from doing something completely irrational, like having Booth wall-fuck her in front of everyone. That's when she noticed a girl boxing in the ring and stopped walking to watch her. "Hey Booth. The girl."

Booth stopped his actions and looked into the ring. "Yeah I see. 5'6", south paw."

Brennan noted, "And left handed." Booth smiled affectionately at his wife's lack of slang.

A man called out from another ring, "Can I help you folks?"

Booth went into character as he looked up at the man, "I can't believe it, ah, 'Sloppy Joe' Nolan."

Brennan too slipped into character as she draped herself over Booth and asked, "Sloppy Joe?"

Booth smiled as he explained it, "Yeah! That's how he left his opponents."

Joe smiled as he shook his head, "These days, it's just Joe."

Another boxer behind Joe came over and told him, "I busted a lace, Joe."

Booth smoothed his hair out as he told him, "Sorry to bother you, Joe, but you know you had a huge impact on my, uh, style back in the army. Ya know a juke to the body, followed by a right hook? Worked for me every time."

The boxer laughed and smiled as he joked with Joe, "Another Army fighter, Joe? How many of these 'has beens' you get in here a week?"

Joe shook his head as he looked over Booth, "At least this one still looks like he's in shape."

Brennan slid her hand down to his butt as he squeezed it softly, getting back at him, "Oh, yeah! My man's in great shape. Believe me."

Booth jumped forward a little, not expecting Brennan to do that. He chuckled softly, "Easy there, honey."

The boxer smiled as he said, "Let's see it, Army. Show us those moves that made you so famous."

Brennan loved going undercover. "Yeah, go ahead tiger!" She then slapped Booth's butt, "Show these clowns."

Booth pulled her closer as he said, "Yeah, maybe I will, okay? Jus- just a little."

He headed over to the punching bag and took off his jacket and handed it to Brennan to hold for him as Joe challenged, "Yeah, come on, tiger."

Booth went light on him, at first. "Alright, let's see Joe. A little, you know tap, you know, juke to the body, with a hard right, followed by a whole bunch of these…" Booth kept punching the bag for a few more good seconds.

Brennan licked her lips as another wave of arousal took over her body as Booth finished. He slowly walked over to her and she handed his things to him as she told the two men, "So much for my 'has been' army fighter."

Joe wasn't going to lie, "Not bad."

Booth draped his arm over Brennan's shoulders as he said, "You know, I still got it."

Brennan purred in his ear, "Yeah, maybe a little too much." Booth involuntarily licked his lips at her voice.

Joe shook his head amused, "What's your name?"

Booth smiled, happy to see that they got in. "Tony Scallion, here's my fiancée, Roxanne."

Brennan corrected him, "We're more 'engaged to be engaged'."

Joe walked over to the ring and asked, "So you looking to train or what?"

Booth shook his head, telling him what they needed, "Ah, ya know, I don't fight no more, but they say you can direct me and Roxie to a little you know, uh, 'underground action'."

Joe smiled up at the boxer, "They say a lot don't they?"

Booth leaned forward and whispered, "Yeah, well, some guy at the Rio - one of them 'you didn't hear it from me' types?"

Joe shook his head, "Sorry, can't help you." He then exchanged looks with the boxer as he nodded in return.

Brennan sighed slightly, but stayed in character. "Ah, what did I tell you, Tony? That guy was just trying to hit on me."

Joe turned around as he informed them, "Well, I do know a number you can call. Not that I'd give it to just anybody."

The boxer smiled, "Oh, come on, Joe. They seem like such nice people."

Brennan wanted to jump up and down at their progress. Instead she told him, "Yeah, we're nice people."

Joe looked at them both before he said, "Thousand Bucks. Each."

Booth didn't have that type of cash on him. "Whoa. That's a little steep…"

Brennan leaned into Booth to let him know that it was okay as she said, "No, Tony, come on! We only live once and I want to see a fight." Brennan walked over to Joe as she pulled a wad of cash from her cleavage and handed it to Joe.

The boxer laughed heartily, "Nothing like being a kept man, huh?"

Booth brought Bones back to his side as he fought against his arousal at what he just saw. "Yeah, I don't know what I'd do without her."

~BONES~

Booth was driving in their car as he told her, "That was amazing! What got into you?"

Brennan smiled as she said, "It's from when I used to watch old movies with my dad. He really liked Clara Bow."

Booth started to look for somewhere to pull over as he chuckled, "Clara Bow was a silent film star, Bones."

She shrugged slightly, "Yeah, but – but I guess that's how I always imagined she sounded."

Booth finally found somewhere to pull over as he remembered how she paid for the phone number, "Just like you imagined she carried around a wad of cash?"

Brennan looked at where they were curiously wondering why they were parked in a cheap looking chapel where people could get married. "Oh, that. Well, I couldn't sleep last night, so I snuck off to play a little crap."

Booth smiled, "Craps, Bones. Plural. And I can't believe your beginners luck."

Brennan turned to look at him as she scolded him, "Don't say that! You'll jinx it."

Booth turned to her and asked, "Since when do you believe in jinx's?"

Brennan sensing the change in Booth's body, said in shallow low breaths, "I don't. But after hearing the craps dealer say it…"

Booth leaned forward as he whispered huskily, "Craps dealer's right. No jinx's. We got a big night ahead of us." He then kissed her passionately, the prior events coming back to both of them.

Before she knew what she was doing, Brennan was straddling Booth as much as her dressed allowed her to. Booth slid his hand over the smooth skin of the thighs and gruffly as she kissed his neck, "God, babe you are so beautiful."

Brennan made her way back to his lips as she said, "No more talking." Booth mumbled his agreement as she kissed him hungrily, as he almost ripped the dress she was wearing from pure need. This was going to be the best undercover case ever.

~BONES~

Brennan watched two women fight as the crowd cheer them on, before she turned to Booth and asked, "You nervous?"

Booth shrugged, "About what, huh? Throw a few to make it look good and let Walt take me down."

That's when they heard the referee call out, "Alright, ladies and gentleman. We got some fresh blood to shed for you tonight. The great Tony the Tiger!"

The crowd booed loudly, much to Brennan's shock, "Why are they booing?"

Booth looked at her and smiled, "They find it more fun than cheering."

Nick, the boxer from before, walked over to the Referee and whispered something in his ear that Brennan noticed, "That's the guy from Nolan's gym."

Booth nodded his head as he whispered, "Yeah. I had a feeling we'd see him again."

Walt came walking up to the two of them as said, "Hey, Tone."

Booth looked at him worriedly, "What are you doing over here?"

Brennan looked at him confused, "Yeah. You're supposed to be over there?"

The ref called out, "Hold on, folks. There's been a change in the card."

Walt shook his head, "Sorry, man. They pulled me."

Booth was now worried, "They what?"

The ref shouted, "In this corner, a man who needs no introduction. MONROE!"

Walt looked out at the boxer and winced slightly, "They said Monroe would be a bigger draw for the bettors."

Booth looked at him with wide eyes. He was dead. "Yeah, ya know. He's sorta bigger everything."

Monroe grunted as the ref told the crowd, "Alright, ladies and gentleman, place your bets. Last call for wagers right now. Get your money down."

Monroe grunted again when Brennan gripped Booth's arm worriedly, "You can't fight him, Booth. He'll kill you."

Booth was scared out of his mind, but he really didn't have a choice, "I really don't have a choice, Roxie."

The ref called out, "Tiger, center ring. Now."

Booth moved into the ring and stood in front of his opponent, Monroe, as the ref said, "Okay, boys. On my signal. KILL!"

Immediately, Monroe threw the first punch. They throw a few punches and kicks. Soon Booth is on the ground and Brennan rushed over to him, trying to help him stay alive, "Excuse me! Tony!" She leaned forward and told Booth, "Tony, stay down. Monroe has calcium deposits on his left medial epicondyle."

Booth looked at her in pain, "And that helps me how?"

Monroe picked Booth up off the floor and went after him again as Brennan tried to make her way through the crowd to get closer to Booth, "Excuse me, excuse me. He can't extend his arm and he lacks a range of motion in his quadratus lumborum, Hit him there."

Booth looked at her confused, "Hit him where?"

Brennan told him, "His lower back, above his right kidney"

Booth finally broke away from Monroe and started to hit him where Brennan told him to…and it works. He actually might win this. Brennan shouted above everyone, "Give him your Nolan Move!" Booth did the Nolan move and knocked the guy to the ground. Everyone was shocked speechless for a second.

The ref came over and announced, "Your winner! The last man standing! Tony the Man-eating Tiger! Tony the Tiger!"

Brennan ran over to Booth relieved beyond compare that he was still alive. She hugged him tightly as Booth finally felt the impact of the fight. He slumped into her as he whispered, "I did it."

After having told Walt everything Brennan drove Booth back to their hotel. They were now in the room, Booth sat on the bed, while Brennan attended to his wounds. "Booth, stop moving."

Booth tried to stay still as she cleaned his wounds. But damn, it stung. Booth took in a deep breath, trying to hold perfectly still so they could get this done with. "You know Bones, I wouldn't have been able to win without you. I think you're my lucky charm."

Brennan snorted softly, "I don't believe in luck. You won because you are an excellent fighter. I just gave you the knowledge of where Monroe was the weakest." After a few seconds of silence Brennan whispered, "You showed your alpha-male position back there. It was…very arousing."

Booth looked up at Brennan when she said that and saw how dark her eyes were. He licked his lips. He moaned, "Bones."

Brennan smiled softly, "I know that you are tired and in pain. We won't do anything right now about it." Booth smiled appreciatively at her. But she had to add, "At least not until we get back home, that is." Booth groaned even louder. The woman was going to be the death of him

~BONES~

Brennan was packing while Booth was watching the news. "Vegas authorities have arrested Nick Arno- along with his father, Tangiers Casino gaming executive, Peter Arno, otherwise known as Sweet Pete, in connection with the murder five years ago of prosecutor Mason Roberts, among others."

Brennan shook her head in disgust, "'Among others?' Is that what Billie Morgan is to these people? Others?"

Booth shut off the television and came up behind her, "It's day one Bones, relax. You know what? Billie - Billie's gonna have her story told. It's just a matter of time. So what was the, uh, second reason?"

Brennan looked at him confused, "What?"

Booth kissed her neck softly as he whispered, "Uh, you never told me the second reason why, uh, why you bet on me."

Brennan sighed lightly at the feel of his lips, "Yeah, it was...silly."

Booth turned her around in his arms and said softly, "Well, come on. Try me."

Brennan looked down at his chest as she smoothed her hands down his shirt. "Beginner's Luck. I haven't lost at anything since I've been here. So, well, I – I figured if I bet on you, then…"

Booth smiled affectionately, "I couldn't lose."

Brennan shrugged, trying to not show her embarrassment, "Sounds silly, right?"

Booth tilted her chin up with his finger, "It sounds familiar. Thanks." He kissed her lips softly.

Brennan breathed in his scent as they parted, "You're welcome." Brennan kissed him one last time before she asked, "You ready?"

Booth smiled as he pushed some of her hair behind her ear, "Yeah, let's go."


	9. Chapter 9

**Disclaimer - I don't own bones**

* * *

 **Chapter 9 – Aliens in a Spaceship**

Brennan moaned softly as she rolled her head slightly, "Oh God. What – What happened? Where am I?" She turned the keys in the ignition as she frantically felt around to figure out where she was. The radio was on and she reached behind her neck and felt something, like a burn. "Ugh. Oh god." She reached up and turned on the inside light and exhaled softly. She saw her phone, smashed and lying on the passenger seat.

Brennan tried to open the car door, slamming into it a few times. "Oh, Come on!" She tried to open the door again, to no avail. She then tried to roll down the window, only to have dirt and rocks fall in the car on her. She quickly rolled up the window to stop the onslaught of dirt. She then turned off the radio, growing annoyed by the music. She stopped for a moment to collect herself, and heard a moaning noise coming from the back seat. She immediately thought that it was Booth and sighed in relief. She wasn't alone. She turned around and instead of seeing Booth, she saw Jack Hodgins, and he appeared to be in worse shape than her. She started to climb over the console, "Hodgins. Hodgins. Are you all right? Can you talk?" She put her hand on his leg, only to find to find blood and gashes on them. She looked up at him worriedly, "Your legs. What happened to your legs?"

Hodgins was just starting to gain full consciousness when he mumbled, "Where are we?"

Brennan at him seriously. "We're buried alive. He must have got us."

Hodgins was very confused, "Who?"

Brennan looked around at all the dirt and the darkness. She took in a deep calming breath. "The Grave Digger"

~BONES~

48 Hours Earlier

Booth and Brennan were walking in the woods to crime scene. The Sheriff told them, "My superior says to let you look at the…flying saucer."

Brennan told him matter-of-factly, "It's not a flying saucer."

The sheriff told her, "It sure looks like one. Local kids dirt biking. Something shiny poking through dirt. They dig it out, look in the window and see aliens."

Brennan looked at him skeptically, "Did you look?"

The sheriff nodded his head, "Yes, ma'am. Then called for backup."

Booth was the one now to look at him confused, "Why?"

The sheriff shrugged his shoulders as if it was obvious, "On account of…well, they are aliens."

Booth looked at Brennan, and then she headed over to the 'spaceship'. Brennan walked right up to it and knelt down, "All right." She cleared dirt of the window and looked in. She then looked at Booth, "You wanna take a look?"

Booth moved behind her and peered over her shoulder into the window. "Oh. Are those what I think they are?"

Brennan looked at him and said seriously, "Yes. As long as you think they're two adolescent human males."

Booth nodded slowly as he processed that. "Hmm…How long?"

Brennan examined the bodies as much as she could, "The amount of dehydrated tissue suggest the tank is sealed and intact. Years."

Booth shook his head, "Man. Two kids, huh? I liked it better when they were aliens."

~BONES~

Booth, Brennan, Thomas Vega and Janine O' Connell were in a conference room in the Hoover Building. Vega told them, "I became a Kidnap and Ransom specialist after I realized that the bureau's policy on nonpayment to kidnappers is antiquated and dangerous."

Booth looked at him and asked, "You've dealt with The Grave Digger how many times?"

Janine answered for him, proudly, "In total? Five."

Vega informed them, "Janine is a journalist. She helped me write the book on The Grave Digger. Next to me, she's the ranking expert on that son of a bitch."

Booth looked at Janine with slight disgust, "Journalist, huh?"

Janine pouted slightly, "Aw, don't be like that, Agent Booth. The Grave Digger is totally consistent. No one ever sees the victim taken. The ransom demand is made using a digitally altered voice. A time limit is given. There's never a second call. As soon as the ransom is paid to a numbered, untraceable account in Bahrain, the Caribbean, etc. The GPS coordinates are provided, leading to the victim."

Brennan asked curiously, "None of the surviving victims remembers anything before being taken?"

Janine shook her head, "Nothing. Burn marks on the back of the neck suggest the use of a stun gun or cattle prod."

Vega told them, "And that'll scramble your brains pretty good. Also, when you try to trace whatever container the boys were found in, you'll, well, you'll reach a dead end. He gets everything from landfills or cash auctions."

Booth asked seriously, "No last chance to pay up?"

Vega shook his head, "Never."

Janine said almost appraisingly, "You know. Most kidnappers are caught because they start negotiating the ransom. The Grave Digger simply won't play."

Booth looked at definitely disgusted now. "Really not looking to help you write another book, ya know. Capturing The Grave Digger."

Vega told Booth a little angrily, "Agent Booth. I have seen what this guy does to families, up close. Ya know what, dislike me as much as you want but I'm still gonna help ya because… I want this bastard caught."

Vega and Janine left the room as Brennan turned to Booth as she said, "You were kinda mean to them."

Booth smiled charmingly, "Yeah. Thanks." Brennan shook her head and smiled at his mischievousness.

~BONES~

Booth and Brennan were in Booth's SUV. Booth was driving when Brennan said out of nowhere, "Had it occurred to you that God is a lot like The Grave Digger?"

Booth looked at her slightly mortified that she would say something like that. "Wha…What?"

Brennan explained, "He lays down the rules. No way to question him or negotiate. Then it's almost as though he doesn't care how it works out. Either you do as he says – make some sacrifices and they're delivered or you don't and you end up in hell."

Booth joked, sorta, "You know what? I'd appreciate it if you didn't say things like that because I really don't want to get struck by lightning."

Brennan was silent for a few seconds before she asked, "You go to church every Sunday, right?

Booth nodded slowly, "Yes, I do. Then we meet up for lunch."

Brennan looked at him innocently, "Can I come with you next time?"

Booth looked forward unwavering. 'No. You can't."

Brennan – for her part – was shocked by his outright denial, "Wh- why? It might help me to understand."

Booth shook his head as he told her, "I am not going to help you disrespect God in His own house. Okay, if you want to do some kind of, ya know, anthropological study – turn on the religious channel." Brennan huffed in anger as she turned to look out the window.

~BONES~

Brennan was walking to her car when she noticed something in the reflection in her window. She started to turn around when someone grabbed her from behind. Before she knew what had even happened, she was unconscious.

Hodgins had just come out into the garage when he saw Brennan unconscious on the ground. He started to run over to her worriedly calling out, "Dr. Brennan. Dr. Brennan?" As he got closer to her body, he stopped when he heard tires screeching against the concrete. The last thing he saw were the lights of a car coming at him.

~BONES~

Booth and Cam were sitting in the Royal Diner eating. Booth had invited Cam so he could have a serious conversation about her flirtatious behavior toward him and how it needed to stop. He however was blind-sided by Cam, "What do you say we go to New York for the weekend?"

Booth shook his head, "Yeah, I don't think…"

Cam rolled her eyes at his reluctant manner, "Come on! We're two adults with no obligations." Booth's phone rang. He was about to answer it when Cam stopped him, "Let it go to voice mail. We're not cheating. We're not hurting anybody, Seeley."

Booth shook his head again, "Camille, I'm with someone. I lo…"

Cam tried to stop what he was going to say, "Come to New York with me. We'll go to a musical."

Booth felt his phone vibrate letting him know that he had a message. He had to laugh at the musical comment, "Talking and singing and talking and dancing and more singing." He pulled out his phone to check his voicemail.

Cam laughed, thinking that she finally got through him. "You can fantasize about pulling out your gun and shooting everyone on stage. You know you like that." Booth put his phone to his ear to check his message, as Cam continued to talk, "Seriously, we'll do something you like. Like, climbing the outside of the Empire State building or swimming the East River…or…" However, Booth wasn't paying attention to her anymore. Whatever he wanted to tell her about his relationship with Brennan was long forgotten as his heart sank while he listened to his message. Cam noticed Booth's paled and pained features and asked concerned, "What? What happened?"

Booth turned on the speaker phone and played back the voice mail. "Temperance Brennan and Jack Hodgins have been buried alive. Wire transfer $8 million to the following Grand Cayman account or they will suffocate to death."

~BONES~

Booth was playing the message back for Vega, Janine, and Kim Kurland . "Upon receipt of the wire transfer, I will provide you Brennan and Hodgins GPS Coordinates. This will be my last communication."

Vega told them seriously, "It will be his last communication too. He's never varied."

Kim nodded slowly as she processed the message. "He learnt from the Kent boys. He's got two of them, he cut the deadline in half."

Vega shook his head confused though, "Why is The Grave Digger demanding so much money? It's doesn't make any sense."

Janine told them, "Well, he's always been reasonable at knowing how much people can raise within the time limit."

Vega looked at Booth as he questioned, "Has – uh – Dr. Brennan made that much money from her books?"

Booth shook his head. He knew how much money they had. Hell, he'd go rob a bank just to get wife back. But he also knew who had more money. "It's Hodgins. He's the sole heir to this thing called The Cantilever Group."

Vega's brow furrowed, "What's that?"

Janine stared at Booth in disbelief for a second, "Just the third largest privately owned corporation in the country…"

Booth glared at Vega as he almost snarled, "Make sense now, Tom?"

~BONES~

Brennan looked at Hodgins as she tried to keep calm, "I was on my way to karate class, so we have lots of bottled water."

Hodgins was still severely disoriented, "What happened? Where are we?"

Brennan sighed in anger and frustration, "Last thing I remember is being at the lab."

Hodgins looked down at his legs, "I'm really confused, what happened to my legs?" He looked at Brennan and asked again, "Where are we?"

Brennan was starting to become worried by Hodgins mental state. "Underground. Buried. I have a burn…" She pulled her hair back revealing 2 red marks – from what appears to be a stun gun.

Much to her relief, Hodgins started to recall some facts. "Zach was trying to figure out what kind of stun gun…"

Brennan told him honestly, "It has to be The Grave Digger. I think he ran you down with his car, and then pumped you full of drugs to ruin your short term memory – same as Ryan Kent."

Hodgins was finally starting to get a sense of how serious their condition was as he obviously started getting more worried, "How long have we been down here?"

Brennan looked down at her watch, "Um. It would be – 2 hours – I think?"

Hodgins closed his eyes as he tried to focus on the math, "Okay, So this vehicle is 6…60 - 60 cubic feet of air, uh, it's just 20 percent oxygen – two people – my brain is not working…" He sighed in frustration at his inability to do simple mathematics.

Brennan felt panic creep up into, but tried to hide it the best she could. "The Grave Digger is very consistent. If we started with 12 hours of air, we'll be unconscious in 10. After that if – if no one pays the ransom…"

Hodgins finished her sentence, the final pieces coming together showing them how dire their circumstances were, "We're dead." Brennan nodded her head slowly, tears forming slowly.

~BONES~

Everyone was on the platform in the lab, with a countdown on one of the screens that read 10:43:04. Cam looked at Booth confused, "How are we gonna get our hands on $8,000,000?"

Zach told her what everyone there knew, "Hodgins is rich."

Cam looked at him surprised, "He is?"

Zach nodded his head, "'Rich squared to the power of ten times four' is how he describes it."

Angela turned to Booth worried out of her mind. "You're gonna pay the ransom, right?"

Booth had no doubt about that. He was going to get both Bones and Hodgins out, alive. Because if he didn't, it would kill him. "Yes. FBI standard ops, they won't work. Grave Digger operates outside statistics."

Cam looked at him seriously, "They'll fire you."

Booth really could care less about that. He just wanted Brennan in his arms. He tried to play it off, "Ah, that's cool. One less reason to wear a suit."

Cam still couldn't figure something out though, "How did The Grave Digger catch Brennan and Hodgins together?"

Booth had alone gone to dinner with Cam because he knew Brennan had her class. "Bones was on her way to karate."

Angela sighed as she recalled, "And Hodgins said he found something huge…"

Zach finished for her, "…and he tried to catch Dr. Brennan."

~BONES~

Angela, Zach, Cam, and Booth went to investigate the garage where they knew Brennan parked her car. Cam walked over to where she saw a blood stain, "Here!"

Angela rushed over and took in a deep breath. "Oh my god. Oooh, that's blood, isn't it?"

Booth tried to stay rational, the way Brennan would instead of purely acting on emotion, but he needed to go on his gut with this one. He didn't like to think of that being hers "It'll turn out to be Hodgins."

Zach told him, "Dr. Brennan doesn't like it when we jump to conclusions."

Cam said, "I'm sure she'll appreciate - we're on a deadline."

Booth tried to play out the scene in his head. "Look. Hodgins interrupted the kidnapping, just like Ryan and Matthew – The Grave Digger must have run him over."

Angela felt helpless, and hopeless. She didn't like this at all. "God, what are we gonna do?"

Booth knew he needed to keep a level head. Right now, that was what would save both of them. "Well, it's a crime scene, alright. They'll look for tire tracks. They'll check the security cameras." He then pointed to Zach, "I need you to be Dr. Brennan."

Zach shook his head confused, "I don't know what that means."

Cam told him in terms he would understand, "It means, keep working the case."

Booth watched as Zach hurried away. He looked at Cam. She was the boss, she should know what Hodgins was working on, "Alright, I need to know why Hodgins was chasing after Bones."

Cam nodded her head, "I'll look at his notes."

Angela was not going to just sit around and worry. She needed to do something, "Well, what about me?"

Booth knew he should be the one to call, but he couldn't deal with that right now. "Call Bone's brother, Russ, and tell him what's going on. I'm gonna go talk to the chairman of The Cantilever Group." Booths turned to leave the garage as Cam picked up her phone and dialed for a team to come in.

~BONES~

Brennan was back in the front seat of the car. She had just taken inventory of their supplies. "We have water, towels, my mini kit, ibuprofen, two cell phones no batteries, a digital camera with a back up battery and uh, a handful of pens."

Hodgins tried to joke as he said, "That one's a laser pointer…"

Brennan shook her head at his joke and held up her book, "And uh, a copy of my novel."

Hodgins laughed softly at that. Of course she would have one. "Hey. We can read it to each other if we get bored."

Brennan pulled perfume out of a pouch as she read the type, "Deep Rhapsody?"

Hodgins winced slightly before he said, "Careful. That's 3 grand a quarter ounce." He winced even more so in pain.

Brennan tried to joke to distract him from the pain. "Yeah. I'd make that face too, if I spent $3,000 on perfume."

Hodgins shook his head as he tried to steady his breathing. "Oh man. Something – something – my leg."

Brennan reached for the bottle of ibuprofen and poured a few pills into her hand, "Here." She then grabbed one of the bottles of water, "Here." She looked at Hodgins as she handed them to him and said, "I'm worried you have compartment syndrome."

Hodgins swallowed the pills and looked at her concerned, fear evident in his eyes. "Is that terminal? I mean within the next few hours?"

Brennan didn't like seeing Hodgins in this much pain. She knew what that syndrome could do. But they needed to stay realistic about their matter. She would only tell him, if he asked. "No."

Hodgins could sense that there was more behind that 'no' than she was giving. Which meant that it was bad. "But…"

Brennan sighed as she looked down. She slowly looked back up at him and had a small flash of her brother, Russ, sitting there injured. She shook it off though, "It's gonna get painful."

Hodgins looked at her like she was crazy. "More painful than now?"

Brennan nodded slowly, "Yeah. Slip into shock and die painful."

Hodgins laughed dubiously, "Well, there's nothing we can do about that."

Brennan looked at him sadly. "Actually, there is."

Hodgins looked at her with wide eyes. "Oh, I'm not gonna like this, am I?"

Brennan shook her head. Hodgins nodded his head in understanding. She positioned him quietly, stoically. He then asked her for her book and one of the pens quietly. Brennan handed them over to him and then prepared herself for what she was about to do. She had grown to look at Hodgins as sort of like a brother over their years of working together. She was terrified about what could happen if she caused Hodgins more harm than good from this surgery. She heard him tear a page out of her book. She then heard the scribble of his pen against the paper. He folded it and placed it in his jacket pocket. He spoke softly, "Okay. I'm ready."

Brennan inquired softly, "Was that a note to Angela?"

Hodgins tried to stay brave, optimistic of the outcome. But his emotions started to come forward a little as tears welled up in his eyes. "Yes. Just in case, that whatever you're gonna do to me sends me into shock. I might die." He then joked, "Upside? Me not breathing, doubles your survival time."

Brennan didn't laugh. She hated that thought. If she killed Hodgins, she didn't know what she would after, if she was saved. How she could live with that. "I'm not interested in surviving that way. What I'm going to do is make a long incision in the fascia to release the pressure inside."

Hodgins asked tentatively, "And…how long is a long incision? Wait, ya know what? Don't tell me."

Brennan told him through her own emotions, "It's best if I do it very fast and without empathy." She handed him a gag for his mouth, "Here. Hang on to something and don't fight passing out." She held the knife next to his leg, ready to make the incision as Hodgins placed the gag in his mouth and held on to the emergency handles in the back of the car. Brennan asked quietly, "You ready?" He nodded and she prepared to cut into him, but she found a piece of something stuck in his leg. "Wait…"

Hodgins dropped the gag from his mouth as he asked, "What is that?"

Brennan looked at it closely as she said, "Evidence of what happened to you. Let's – let's worry about it later."

Hodgins handed her book to her and said, "Here, just put it in the pages of your book. I'll take a look at it later." He put the gag back in his mouth but then mumbled something that Brennan couldn't understand.

Brennan looked at him and said sympathetically, "It's best if you don't talk right now."

He spat out the gag and told her through tears, "I'm nuts about Angela. Over the moon. Stupid in love with her. That's why I bought her that, that crazy, expensive perfume. Man gives you a bottle of perfume like that, it says…it says 'I Love You'. There. I said it out loud." He put the gag back in his mouth and got back into position. Brennan looked at him for a second, his confession hitting her closely. But he was ready. Brennan made the incision down his leg. His scream would forever be imprinted in her brain, but she remained impartial to it. She needed to do this for him.

~BONES~

Booth sighed heavily. He just needed more time and money and just more goddamn resources. He was starting to loss his patience and his calm demeanor. He told Cam quietly, "I can't get the ransom together, not in the time." He could get what money they had and ask for a few favors, but not in the time they had. "All right, The Cantilever Group has got this policy – no proof of life from the kidnapper, no ransom."

Cam looked at him in disbelief, "Not ever for the boss?"

Booth shook his head in frustration, "It's his rule. It's no exceptions. I'd say we need more time, but The Grave Digger doesn't give us that – or proof of life."

Cam whispered softly, "Booth, I don't think it's a coincidence that he took Brennan when he did."

Booth pushed off the railing he had been leaning on. He felt immense guilt. If he had been with her, if only he had been with her. "Yeah, I was kinda thinking the same thing."

~BONES~

Brennan had been trying to get some of the wires form the car horn and see if her idea would work. The horn honked loudly, startling Hodgins awake. Brennan sighed in relief at his sound of shock, "Thank god I didn't kill you."

Hodgins looked at his new position and asked drowsily, "How long was I unconscious?"

Brennan looked at him concerned, "For a while. How's your leg?"

Hodgins looked down at his legs and then smiled back at her, "Better. Lots better. What are you doing?"

Brennan smiled at that news and then smiled even more as she told him her plan. "Hotwiring the phone to the horn so we can send a message."

Hodgins questioned, "From underground?"

Brennan pointed at the radio as she told him, "We get radio reception."

Hodgins nodded his head as he did some math in his mind, "Direct current 12 volt will burn out the circuits in a 4.2 volt cell phone in a microsecond. Better jury-rig a resistor."

Brennan hadn't thought about that. "Smart."

Hodgins pushed himself up a little more as he said, "Might work long enough to send a single burst transmission."

Brennan nodded in understanding. "Very short text message. Booth can trace it to a cell phone relay tower."

Hodgins laughed bitterly almost, "What message should we send? Goodbye? Nice to know ya?"

Brennan knew that they needed to send something that could help save them. She smiled as she asked, "What are we surrounded by?"

Hodgins looked around, "Pain. Despair…and a subsoil accumulation of agglutinate aridosols.

Brennan told him plainly, "Dirt."

Hodgins would have glared at her, but was too tired to try. "I don't like the term 'dirt'."

Brennan had gotten what she wanted out of him. That spark. "Alright," she pickws up a handful of dirt from inside the car and handed it to him, "Tell me something I don't know."

Hodgins examined the dirt. "Ash. Hints of nitrogen and sulfur."

Brennan asked, "So where are we?"

Hodgins smiled. He knew where they were. "We're in Bituminous Coal country. Basically, Virginia."

Brennan sighed. That wasn't enough though. Virginia was a big state. "We need more than that."

Hodgins thought of something. "The laser and we need Benzophenone."

Brennan thought about that, "Benzophenone. Some soaps and plastic packaging, sunscreen – we don't have any sunscreen. Angela's perfume."

Hodgins watched her as she opened the vial. "Three. Grand. That cost."

Brennan looked at him and laughed softly, "Hodgins, I will split the cost when we get out of here."

Hodgins looked at her. If they were going to die, he wanted her to know about him. "There's something you don't know about me. I'm rich."

Brennan smiled at that admission. "Me too."

Hodgins shook his head. He hoped she wouldn't think of him differently, "No. No. You're – well off. My family owns The Cantilever Group and there's not many of us left alive. One to be exact. Me."

Brennan laughed softly, "Okay. I won't split it with you." She poured the perfume into the dirt and Hodgins mixed it around with his finger. She sniffed it slightly and said, "It smells nice."

Hodgins laughed as he told her, "I need the camera." She picked up the camera and handed it to him. He then used it to examine the dirt more closely. He looked up at her excitedly, "I know where we are."

~BONES~

Booth was with Vega in his office as Vega told him, "There's not negotiating with The Grave Digger."

Booth was growing frustrated. They were running out of time. He just wanted to punch something or someone. Anything really. He restrained himself though and asked tersely, "You've been through this what – ah – five times with this guy?"

Vega nodded as he tried to reason, "Exactly. So I know him, and he does not negotiate."

Booth pushed off his desk and snapped, "Oh, what? What – no - chat room action with him?"

Vega glared at him. "Are you nuts? I hate the son of a bitch."

Booth was too angry to care what he said, "Why? He's made you rich."

Vega had had enough of Booth's disdain for him. So he told him factually, "You know what? You just need to deal with the facts. That if you can't put the ransom together in the time he gave you, your partner is dead."

Booth lost it then. He grabbed Vega by the throat and threw him down on the table. He kept a firm hold on his neck as he told him menacingly, "Here's the deal, all right. You have a relationship with this guy, what they call symbiotic – you benefit from each other – hmm. So know this." He leaned forward and whispered in his ear, "That deadline comes around, and my wife is still underground – I will end you. You understand? Yeah?" He picked him off of the table and told him seriously, "Three hours to live." He shoved Vega out of his office as he said, "Better hurry." And Booth was dead serious. Because if his Bones died, he would lose it.

~BONES~

Booth was standing behind his chair, thinking, when he received a message on his phone. He looked down and saw that is was from Bones. His heart nearly leapt out of his chest. She was still alive. However, he had no clue what the hell the message meant…But the squints would. They had to know.

~BONES~

Everyone was gather again on the platform around a computer screen, that read the numbers 6 7 16 M1.4.

Booth looked at the group desperately, "Does it mean anything to anybody?"

Cam shook her head. It was gibberish, "They're getting low on oxygen."

Zach nodded in agreement, "Hypoxia leads to mental confusion."

Booth wouldn't take that. He knew that Brennan would stay logical even with depleted amount of oxygen. "It's Bones. It means something."

Angela asked, "Did you try just dialing the number?"

Booth just wanted to shout and scream and throw something and just breakdown, but he needed to stay strong. "I tried all the dumb guy, normal stuff. Okay, that's why I'm here talking to the Brain Trust. All right. Think! Eggheads. Work it!"

Cam didn't understand why he was reacting so strongly to this. I mean sure, their friends lives were at stake but this was so much more than that type of reaction. She yelled at him, "Booth. They're not cops!"

Booth yelled back, "We're running out of time!"

Zach looked at a different monitor and said dreadfully, "Minor correction. Dr. Brennan and Hodgins run out of air in….4 seconds." The clock counted down to 0 as Zach said, "We are out of time." Booth just wanted to collapse into a heap at that. But he wouldn't accept that. No, Bones was still alive. She had to be.

~BONES~

Brennan had cut through the back seat into the trunk and punctured a tire to get more air for them. They leaned up against the seat and breathed it in. Hodgins asked breathlessly, "How much extra time?"

Brennan looked at him tiredly, "A little. There are 4 extra tires, but we can't get to them. Is there anything else?"

Hodgins sighed dejectedly, "If the ransom was paid, we'd be out by now. Why prolong the inevitable?"

Brennan shook her head slightly, "Booth will find us."

Hodgins smirked slightly at Brennan's words. "You have a lot of faith in Booth."

Brennan knew her husband wouldn't stop looking for her. "No. Faith is an irrational belief in something that is logically impossible. Over many years, I've seen what Booth can do. It's not faith."

Hodgins laughed breathlessly. "No offense – and I'm not just saying this because you filleted me with a knife. We are out of air. We don't know if our message got out, much less if anyone understood it and we are buried underground. What you have is faith, baby. Sorry. The baby thing is a reflex." Brennan looked down as tears gathered in her eyes. Hodgins immediately felt bad. "I'm sorry Dr. B, I didn't mean to upset you."

Brennan wiped away her tears, trying to control her emotions. "It's not that. I just…" Brennan took in a small shaky breath. Was she really going to do this? Hodgins had revealed his secrets to her. "I know Booth will find us because he won't stop looking for me. Even when all odds are against him, he will continue to look for me." Brennan saw the confusion on Hodgins face, so she told him, "Because we love each other."

Hodgins nodded his head, starting to understand her. "You guys are dating."

Brennan's tears started to roll down her cheeks as she shook her head. "Hodgins, it's so much more than that. I love Booth, Hodgins. I love my husband."

Hodgins looked at her in shock. Had he just heard her right? Or was it the lack of oxygen? "What? You guys are married?"

Brennan reined in her emotions one last time as she nodded her head. She then took in a shaky breath as she told him, "We really shouldn't talk right now – to conserve air."

Hodgins looked at her and saw what was at stake for everyone involved. He wanted a chance with Angela. But Brennan she already had someone. Booth. And Booth would be destroyed if they died. He was going to put a little faith in him as well. That's when an idea came to him, "I need the camera batteries and the preservative powder from your kit."

Brennan looked at him confused for a second before it dawned on her, "Soda ash and lithium? You're going to make a carbon dioxide scrubber?"

Hodgins nodded his head as he smiled, "If you can perform surgery out of thin air, then I can pull a little thin air out of thin air." They laughed, knowing that at least they'll be able to extend their time by a bit more so their team could have more time to find them. So Booth could.

~BONES~

Cam tied to refocus the group. "Okay. Zach figured out what stun gun The Grave Digger uses and how it's modified. Thanks to Angela, we know that The Grave Digger has a customized aluminum casing in the back of his vehicle…"

Booth was so close. He could feel it! His gut was clenching in pain at just the thought of losing his love. He almost yelled at the squints, "I got about a hundred agents working that angle. What does this mean, right here?" He tapped the monitor with great force. "What does that mean?

Zach looked at him sadly, "You're forgetting something. Brennan and Hodgins are out of air."

Booth was not going to give up now. No, he would not have that. "Great. You wanna give up, huh? This is Bones we're talking about and Hodgins. You really think they didn't find a way to extend their air supply! Hell, they found away to send us a message to ask us for help." He hit the monitor again with an open hand, with even greater force. "And you want to give up because of math."

~BONES~

Hodgins was scraping out the lithium from inside the battery into an ashtray as he told Brennan, "Soda ash. Lithium reacts high concentrations of carbon dioxide. Produces oxygen." They watched as the poured out water stared to foam and they laughed out or relief.

Brennan moved to the front seat, as she started on her other plan. "That gives us just long enough."

Hodgins looked at her confused, "Long enough for what?"

Brennan looked at him seriously, "My next idea, which could kill us. Airbags."

Hodgins laughed softly, "They aren't actually bags of air.."

Brennan shook her head. "I'm not looking to extend our survival underground. I'm looking to blow our way out of here."

Hodgins eyes widened as he understood what she was saying. "Using the explosives from the air bags? That could definitely kill us."

Brennan told him stoically, "So it'll be doing nothing." She went back to work on the airbags.

Hodgins looked at her. If they were going to die and Booth did fine them…He had already made a note to Angela. He ripped a page out of her book and handed it to her. He smiled softly as he asked knowingly, "Anyone you wanna say goodbye to?"

Brennan looked at him and then gently took the paper from him gratefully. She did want to write something.

~BONES~

Zach tried to work through what the message could mean. "It's not a numerical alphabetical code or an equation."

Angela also said, "It's not GPS coordinates or indications of topography."

Booth nodded his head at their progress. "Great. Then what is it?"

Cam got their attention, "Can I make a suggestion? See, this is exactly why I was sent here. You guys are brilliant, but you won't make intuitive leaps."

Zach looked at her skeptically, "You mean 'jump to conclusions'."

Cam nodded, "That's exactly what I mean. This is a message from one of them to one of us. Specific. Focused. Who was it meant to get to?"

Booth knew that Brennan knew that he would never give up. "Easy. Brennan's cell to mine, right? The message was for me. We have an understanding, we…" he was about to say it, but he didn't, "work together."

Angela shook her head as she said emotionally, "We all work together. She's my best friend. And Hodgins – Hodgins…"

Cam looked at her as if it was obvious, "She's right. We should assume the message is from Hodgins not from Brennan."

Booth looked at her confused, "Why?"

Cam told him reasonably, "Because they're buried alive…"

Angela finished, "And Hodgins is all about dirt."

Booth could accept that, "Okay. Great. The message is about dirt, but who's it to?"

Zach tried to follow that thought, "Angela. Hodgins is all about dirt and Angela."

Angela shook her head, "But it's numbers, Zack. It's for you. Hodgins would have written me a line of poetry or something."

Vega and Janine walked into the lab just off the platform. He told Booth sadly, now understanding why he reacted so strongly, "Agent Booth. Janine used all her contacts to get me on all the local news shows. Now, I explained that we needed more time. I asked him to call. I'm sorry, but he's completely consistent."

That's when Zach found it. "6, 7, 16. Carbon, Nitrogen and Sulfur on the periodic table of elements. They are buried in coal rich soil."

Booth looked at the map, having forgotten completely about Vega. "Ya gotta narrow it down, Zach."

Angela encouraged, "Keep going, Zach."

Zach typed some more, "Uh - mineral components of coal are all the same. It's the organic components that provide a unique fingerprint. They are called, mascerals. They fluoresce at different levels. A reflectance of 1.4 is quite rare – suggesting a high concentration of inertinite."

Booth could sense that that meant something. "Zach, tell me what that means."

Angela smiled widely, "It means he knows where they are."

Booth needed to hear it from him though. "Zach…"

Zach pinpointed it exactly and smiled at Booth. "I know where they are." Booth nearly cried out of joy.

~BONES~

Brennan had jumper cable set up across the dashboard of the car with the explosives. Hodgins asked from the back seat, "Can this possibly work?"

Brennan looked back at him and told him honestly, "I'm not really an explosives expert…but the dash might shape the charge enough to blow out the windshield. If we're less than 4 feet beneath the surface, this charge could blow us to freedom."

Hodgins asked worriedly, "And if we're buried more than 4 feet deep?"

Brennan told him sadly, "Then the concussion will turn our brains into jelly."

Hodgins joked, "Well, then we can run for Congress, so it's a win-win."

Brennan laughed softly. She then said seriously, "We should get as far away from the explosion as possible."

Hodgins smiled softly, "I already am." He extended his hand, "Care to join me."

~BONES~

The group arrived at the location, with extra help from the FBI, and stood on the edge of a hill, looking over the area below in hopes that they'll see something that will lead them to Brennan and Hodgins.

Booth looked down at the vast amount of dirt. She was there. They were there. He just knew it. Now if only there was some type of sign. "Come on, people. They've gotta be here. Just look for anything – tire tracks, recent digging, mounds, depressions, anything!"

~BONES~

Brennan looked at Hodgins and asked, "Ready?"

Hodgins nodded slightly and whispered, "Yeah." He then looked at her and stated with emotion clogging his throat, "Dr. Brennan. It's been a privilege." He extended his hand to her, but Brennan hugged him instead and whispered in his ear, "Booth will find us no matter what." She held him tightly as fresh tears came to her eyes.

~BONES~

Booth continued scanning the quarry. He was growing frustrated by not being able to see anything. His wife was dying and he couldn't do anything to help her! And that's when he saw it. A puff of dust shot up from the ground. Without even a hesitation, he ran down the slope, as fast as he could, toward the spot and immediately started digging for his life. For Brennan's life, for Hodgins' life. It felt like he was digging for hours when he felt a hand hit his own. He grasped it immediately and pulled with all his strength. He knew it was his wife, pure relief and happiness rushing through him. Booth dragged her out of the dirt, bringing her against his body – hugging her, afraid she would disappear in front of him, as he laid her down. Everyone else started to arrive and dig to find Hodgins as Brennan coughed out, "Get…Hodgins…"

Booth left her side briefly to help dig out Hodgins. Booth was oblivious to everything else though after Hodgins was pulled out. He just looked at Brennan and brought her back into a fierce hug. He felt Brennan hug him back with as much strength and fierceness as him. He hugged her tighter as she finally let her sobs escape. He whispered in her ear, "I'm here Bren. I've got you, baby. I love you so much." He placed soft, discreet kisses on her cheek.

Brennan clung to Booth though. She didn't want all of this to be a dream. "I was so scared Booth. Thank you, thank you Booth."

~BONES~

Booth sat with Brennan in her hospital room in the ER. The nurse had just put a nasal cannula to provide some oxygen since Brennan didn't want the restriction of a face mask. Booth had his duffel bag in between his feet on the floor with a change of clothes for both him and her in it. He held onto Brennan's hand as he looked down at the bag. She was there with him.

Brennan had been watching him while she laid in the bed, taking deep slow breaths to oxygenate her body again. Ever since they had entered the ambulance Booth had been quiet. She didn't know what he was thinking since he wouldn't look at her directly. But she knew that he was tense, his muscles hadn't relaxed yet. She slid her free hand over his and squeezed it softly, "Booth, I need to tell you something."

That caused Booth to look at her and she saw tears in his eyes. She gently touched his cheek and he leaned into it bringing his left hand to rest on top of their intertwined fingers. Everyone else was in the waiting room trying to get information on Hodgins condition. Booth had only been allowed with Brennan since he was her husband. Brennan wiped away a tear that had made its way out and brought her hand down onto his hand, when Booth sniffed softly and looked back down again. She knew that he was trying to get control of his feelings. That's when she felt the cool sensation of metal against her hand. She looked down and saw that Booth was wearing his wedding band. He rarely wore his, usually on the weekends or when they weren't at work or around friends.

She traced the white gold band gently, as Booth watched her. His dirt covered skin had great contrast against the shine of the metal. For some reason, what she was doing caused him to laugh softly. "God, Bones. I almost lost you. I don't know what I would have done if I did." Brennan tugged at his hand, making him look at her.

She smiled gently. "But you didn't loss me. I'm right here Booth."

Booth nodded as he took in a steadying breath. The past 12 hours had finally caught up to him emotionally and he hated that he wasn't being the strong one. Brennan needed him, she had been the one buried. He smiled affectionately at her, "How are you, really?"

Brennan leaned back and rested her head against her pillow as she thought about it. "I'm relatively okay. My neck still hurts, but my breathing seems much better due to the oxygen. I still don't remember much of what happened before I was abducted but I'm not sure I'll ever fully gain back those memories. Other than that I suspect I should…" But then she saw the look Booth was giving her and she sighed. "I find that I'm afraid to fall asleep. Even though my body is telling me to, I fear that when I wake up I'll be back in the car."

Brennan was surprised when Booth stood up suddenly. She was afraid that he'd leave, but he did the exact opposite. He brought down her railing and slid into the bed next to her, bringing her close to his chest. "Bones, I'll be right there with you. When you wake up I'll be right beside you, holding you. Okay? You're not alone in this. I'm right here, babe."

Brennan snuggled deeper into his embrace, finally saying what she wanted to tell him. "Booth, I have to tell you something. When Hodgins and I were down there…Hodgins told me some things that he hadn't told anyone really. And then," she ran her hand along his chest slowly, "well, when we were running out of air, I didn't want to die without someone knowing how I felt about you. I know that, that is irrational, but I wanted to let him know that I'm not as cold as some people say I am."

Booth wrapped his arm around her and held her tight against him, "Bones, you're not cold."

Brennan waved it off though, "I know that and you know that. But I also know that I can come off as abrasive and clinical. I just wanted him to know that it wasn't true. So I told him about us. I told him that I knew you find us and that I loved you, my husband." She waited for him to respond, but when he didn't she went on gently went on, "I didn't have time to tell him in detail why we haven't told anyone, but I'm sure that he would keep it between us."

At his silence, Brennan thought that he was angry with her. So she took a chance and glanced up at him. Instead of anger all she saw was love in his eyes. He gently brushed some of her hair behind her ear, "Bones, I love you so much."

She asked softly, "You're not mad?"

He laughed quietly at that, "Mad? God, no Bones. Why would I be mad? I don't care if Hodgins knows. Hell I would tell everyone but that could jeopardize what we have as partners and I still can't risk you getting hurt because of my past case."

Brennan nodded slowly as she finally let her eyes drift closed, not fearing it anymore. Booth stroked her back gently as a doctor pulled back their curtain and walked in. Brennan opened her eyes slowly as the doctor came up to them with a warm smile. "Hi, I'm Dr. Greene. I just need to check how your breathing is Dr. Brennan and if everything sounds good, you'll be able to go home."

Booth was about to slide out of the bed, but Brennan held onto him, silently asking him to stay close. So he sat on the edge of the bed and held her hand, stroking it tenderly, as the doctor listened to her breathe. After a few moments of silence, the doctor stepped back with a smile. "Well, everything sounds good. What I'm recommending for you is a good night of rest. But everything else looks good. I hope everything goes well with you, Dr. Brennan." He then nodded to Booth, "Agent Booth."

Before he could leave though, Brennan asked, "Dr. Greene, how is Dr. Hodgins?"

He turned around slowly, debating whether he should tell them. Hodgins didn't have any family and she had just been through a traumatic event with him. "Dr. Hodgins is in surgery right now to fix his broken leg. You saved his life by the surgery you performed on him and I expect him to make a full recovery."

Brennan nodded slowly, happy to hear that Hodgins was going to be okay. "Thank you." As the doctor left Brennan turned to Booth and smiled, "Let's go home. I find that I miss it very much."

Booth smiled as he slid out of her bed and grabbed the duffel bag off the floor. "Okay Bones. But I just need to make one last stop before we go."

~BONES~

Booth and Brennan were sitting in the first pew in the church hospital as Booth prayed. After he was done he sat back. Brennan whispered, "What did you ask for?"

Booth sat back completely as he felt Brennan's head rest against his shoulder, "That's between me and a certain Saint. Although, I did ask for a little help finding The Grave Digger."

Brennan smiled softly, "Good move." She took in a deep breath, getting wafted by a strong scent. "What's that smell?"

Booth pointed to the source, "The candles." After a moment of silence he whispered, "And I said Thanks. You should try it sometime."

Brennan whispered back, "If I were going to pray, I would have done it just before we set off the explosion."

Booth intertwined their fingers and asked, "And you didn't?"

Brennan looked at Booth, "No. See, if there was a God, which there isn't…"

Booth shushed her and looked at her as if she was crazy, "Do you see where we are?"

Brennan ignored that part and said, "And if I were someone who believed he had a plan…"

Booth whispered to her, "…which I do…"

Brennan nodded, "Then I'd be tempted to think He wanted me to go through something like I went through because it might make me more open to the whole….concept."

Booth looked at her and smiled softly, "Mhmm. It obviously hasn't."

Brennan smiled as she turned to face Booth, caressing his cheek. "I'm okay with you thanking God for saving me and Hodgins."

Booth looked down, before he looked back up at her. Rare emotion swarming in his eyes. "That's not what I thanked Him for. I thanked Him for saving…all of us. It was all of us. Every. Single. One. You take one of us away, and you and Hodgins are in that hole forever. And I'm thankful for that."

Brennan leaned forward and kissed his lips softly. As she leaned back, she whispered – her voice cracking with emotion, "I knew you wouldn't give up."

Booth leaned his forehead against hers and whispered back, "I knew you wouldn't give up."

* * *

 **A/N: So I guess I'll have three people find out this season. I hadn't thought about Vega finding out, but he did and so technically three people find out. I hope I did justice to this amazing episode and I look forward to all your reviews. I wrote Brennan as being vulnerable in the hospital because, well, that's how people usually react to such circumstances. I also know that a doctor would never tell Brennan about Hodgins condition, but let's just ignore that fact.**


	10. Chapter 10

**Disclaimer - I don't own bones**

* * *

 **Chapter 10 – The Headless Witch in the Woods**

Brennan and Booth trekked through the forest with a forest ranger that had roped off a crime scene. Brennan pushed aside some branches as she said, "It's getting thicker and thicker in here."

The Ranger told them, "That's why a forensic team got lost. I've sent somebody back to find them."

Booth looked at him worriedly, "Look, you sure you know where you're going?"

The Ranger shook his head and told him truthfully, "I still have trouble and I've been here for three years. That's why we advise hikers to stay away."

Booth snorted softly, "I know, I'm pining for concrete." He then told Brennan softly, "You just, uh, you stay close, alright Bones?" Brennan walked away from Booth and found some kind of talisman in a tree as Booth kept talking, "I don't want you to get caught out here when it gets dark. Okay?" He looked around for her, but didn't see her anywhere. He started to panic a little as he called out, "Bones? Bones? Where the hell are you? Bones?"

Brennan looked over at Booth's panic expression and said, "I'm right here, Booth."

Booth rushed over to her and whispered, "Don't do that, alright?"

Brennan looked at him confused. She didn't understand why he was so jumpy. "What?"

Booth took in a deep breath and tried to remain calm. "Take off like that, okay. You heard the guy." Brennan patted him on his arm reassuringly before she told him why she wandered off. Booth had become overly over-protective recently. And it was starting to annoy her.

~BONES~

The gang was gathered around Angela's computer in her office as she told them, "I cleaned the section of the tape with an isopropyl alcohol solution and fed whatever digital information I could salvage into a restoration program. I didn't get much-maybe I got too much."

There was a girl in the woods at night, screaming, "Where's Brian? Where's Brian!"

A boy yelled, "Lori, wait where are you going? Lori, stop! Stop, Lori!"

Lori screamed, "Brian! Bri-!" She then screamed loudly.

Brennan watched as Cam grabbed for Booth's hand. She also saw how Booth squeezed her hand reassuringly and then took a step back away from her. Cam looked a bit surprised and hurt but didn't say anything as they saw Graham look into the camera, scared, "Oh, God. The noises are getting closer. I've lost Lori and Brian disappeared. Oh God. It's her. I can hear her. She's here. She's here! Oh God, she's here! Lori, where the hell are you? Lori! Oh my God. Help! Help me, oh God! Oh God, somebody help me!" His face got splattered with blood as he yelled, "Somebody help me, please!"

~BONES~

Brennan was looking out the window while Booth was talking as he drove, "Graham had a fellowship with the school. It was a free ride worth about 30 grand a year. Brian, the other kid - you know, from the woods? He applied for it and lost out to Graham. After Graham disappeared, the fellowship went to Brian." Booth then looked at Brennan noticing her silence, "Hmmmm. Did you hear me?"

Brennan nodded her head absent-mindedly, "Yeah. Doesn't look good for Brian Andrews."

Booth asked softly, "You okay?"

Brennan sighed as she told him, "I - I wonder what my life would have been like if Russ had raised me."

Booth broached the topic slowly. He knew how it felt to play the what-ifs game. "Well, you know, since he was a petty thief - you know, in and out of jail all the time – I'd - I'd imagine it wouldn't have been very good."

Brennan looked at him as she said, "If he'd accepted responsibility for raising me - I'm romanticizing. It's foolish."

Booth placed his hand consolingly on her thigh. "Everyone does it, Bones, okay? It's normal."

Brennan shook her head, not wanting to go back to her bad memories, "It's a useless fantasy, no different than the childish legend about the headless woman. I mean, look at Will. He sacrificed everything for his brother and still couldn't save him. By walking out, maybe Russ gave me my life."

Booth patted her leg as he told her affectionately, "But you know what Will said, he was right. You turned out okay."

Brennan smiled as she told him, "I'm going to have coffee with him."

Booth looked at her surprised. "Mmm. That was quick."

Brennan shrugged her shoulders as she explained to him, "He understands something no one else I know does. People need connection, Booth. Even me. Obviously, we have one. You have one with Cam. So…"

Booth thought that had been taken care of. "What?"

Brennan shrugged again as if it was nothing. "I know that you have a past and as friends, I'm sure that you can relate to things better than I can to you."

That didn't sound like a bad thing, but somehow it just didn't feel right to Booth. He could talk to Bones about anything. "Wait a second. Look, Bones, I…"

Brennan thinking that she hit a sore spot, apologized, "Sorry. I'm sorry. I know you don't like talking about your childhood. I get it."

Booth didn't know what to say to that. "I am not… I'm…" But he was speechless.

~BONES~

Booth and Brennan were walking down a hallway in the lab as Booth told her about what he just saw, "She freaked, Bones. It was like she was out there in the woods with that witch."

Brennan whispered seriously, "Don't let anyone else hear you talking like that, Booth."

Booth didn't believe in it, not really anyways, but it still was kind of unnerving. "I'm just saying. You know, I've seen a lot of weird things. It was, like, you know Exorcist weird or Elm Street weird."

Brennan looked at him confused. "What are you talking about now?"

They started to walk up the stairs to enter the platform as Booth remembered they had yet to hit the horror films in their pop culture enlightening weekends. "They're movies. Okay, Bones? Movies so scary that you know, pee in your pants."

Brennan stored that information away for their next upcoming movie night. "Good to know."

~BONES~

Brennan was examining Graham's bones in a different room. Booth was with her as she told him, "Lori was not Graham's only girlfriend. He had lots of girlfriends, but he somehow managed to keep them secret from each other."

Booth nodded his head as he thought out loud, "So what would happen if a very jealous Lori found out?"

Brennan looked at him a decided to tease a little. "I don't know. That's, that's more your territory."

Booth looked at her, surprised to have that insinuation thrown at him. What? What? What, am I cheating?"

Brennan smiled softly, which Booth saw that meant she was kidding, as she said, "I just meant that you use psychology. You're very touchy. Perhaps because of all your skulking around."

Booth pointed his finger at her, knowing she knew why they had to 'skulk' around. "I am discreet, okay? It's different. A gentleman is discreet, okay?"

They both realized that Zach had been in the room the whole time, between them as he asked, "What are we talking about?"

Booth looked to Zach and said, "Nothing that concerns you."

Zach looked between them and said, "But I'm quite literally in the middle of the conversation and it seems very interesting." Booth glared at him, which scared Zach immensely, "However, your glaring indicates that I shouldn't press for further information."

Booth nodded his head slowly in agreement, "Mm-hmm. Good genius, yeah. So, Lori loves Graham. He thinks he loves her but finds out that he doesn't, so she goes all O.J. on him. Ah, that's a perfect cover, right? 'Headless witch did it, not me.' The whole insanity thing might be an act."

Zach informed him, "But the victim sustained extensive defensive wounds. This was a very powerful attacker."

Booth shrugged as he thought back to some past cases, "Oh, you know, when a woman finds out that a man has been cheating on her, she can get pretty mad." Brennan and Zach looked at Booth with their eyebrows raised. Booth raised his hand in defense, "That's what I heard. Okay, look, we got motive and opportunity, it fits."

~BONES~

Booth and Brennan were both on their cell phones in his SUV as he drove. Booth spoke into his, "The kid said he hid her clothes in a hollow log near a stream."

Brennan finished her phone call first as she said, "Thanks." She hung up the phone then told Booth, "Angela looked at the video again. Tell the forensic team to fan out across the area south-southwest of the cabin ruins."

Booth spoke into his phone, "Did you hear that, Lou? Yeah, south-southwest. Yeah, I know it gets cold when the sun goes down, Lou. Well, you should've brought your blankie. Alright, just call me when you find her clothes." He hung up the phone and shook his head, "Man." Booth sighed and realized that Brennan was staring at him. "What? He was being a baby."

Brennan looked at him innocently, "I didn't say anything."

Booth narrowed his eyes slightly, "But you're looking at me like - I'm in trouble and you're a teacher."

Brennan told him honestly, "You're very touchy lately, Booth."

Booth dragged his hand down his face as he said, "Look, Bones. I don't need to talk to Cam about my past or anything like that. I can talk to you just as easily."

Brennan looked out the window as she said, "Did I mention Cam?"

Booth looked at her annoyed. He knew something was bothering her, but she wouldn't talk to him. "I just don't want it to get weird, okay? Cam is just a friend. I don't know why I have to keep telling you that."

Brennan looked at him confused, "Weird?"

Booth tried to find the right words, "We're married and partners, you know? Together all the time, right? I'm a man and I have friends that are women. You know that, you were fine with that. But then when one person, a woman, comes back into my life that knew me romantically and knew me when I was younger, you got jealous. I get that. But the relationship I have with Cam is like two guys, except she's not - ya know - a guy. Yeah."

Brennan tried to understand what he was saying, "No. No, she's not. Should I feel odd about - wanting to hang out with Will?"

Booth shook his head, "No, of course not. You know, because essentially you guys just met each other. And I'm not jealous of him. You're just talking, right?"

Brennan nodded her head, "Yes." She then thought about his description of his relationship with Cam. "So, that would mean that, to Cam, you are essentially a woman. Yeah, I can see that."

Booth looked at her in horror. "No, no, no. I'd – I'd prefer not to be a woman, if you don't mind."

Brennan looked at him confused now. "I'm merely trying to follow your reasoning, Booth. I find it reassuring."

Booth conceded, "Okay, fine. What do you say you just, you know, think of me like that only in comparison to Cam? Nowhere else." She looked at him amused as he picked up his ringing cell, "Yeah, it's Booth." He turned to Brennan and whispered, "They found the clothes."

Brennan looked at him surprised, "That was fast."

Booth spoke into his phone, "Yeah, well, good work, Lou. All right, now you can come home before all the monsters get you. I…" He looked at his phone as he heard the call was disconnected, "Hung up on me. I thought it was funny."

~BONES~

Brennan sat, staring at her computer monitor in her office and leaned back in her chair as Booth appeared in the doorway. Brennan looked at him and laughed softly, "I sure know how to pick 'em, don't I?"

Booth walked in slowly as he told her, "Well, you know. Our perceptions are always colored by what we hope and what we fear, what we love. We do the best we can."

Brennan sighed at her inept ability to be 'normal'. "I'm afraid my best isn't good enough. I can read bones, not people."

Booth stopped in front of her desk as he smiled, "Well, you had no trouble seeing through me."

Brennan smiled, then stood and went around to the front of her desk as she whispered, "It's a good thing I have you.

Booth smiled back at her and leaned down a little to whisper, "You know what? Bones, you're never alone. Okay? Come here."

Brennan looked out to everyone still at work. "Booth…"

Booth tugged at her arm, "Hey, you're my partner. Okay? To them it's a guy hug. To us, it's your husband giving you a hug. Take it."

She hesitated for a second before stepping into his embrace. She hugged him tighter and he rubbed her back in small circles. Brennan started to wonder when she had become so dependent on Booth's comfort, while Booth feared what was happening between them. There was something there, he just couldn't find out what it was.

* * *

 **A/N: Can anyone tell what I'm leading to? *dun Dun DUN* Angst =P I think I like torturing you guys! I'm horrible I know. Review and let me know how much you hate me ;)**


	11. Chapter 11

**Disclaimer - I don't bones but I can write it.**

* * *

 **Chapter 11 – Judas on a Pole**

Brennan was sitting with her brother in her office, looking at him in shock. "Dad called you? You sure it was him."

Russ nodded his head, "He said, 'You and your sister are in danger' and he hung up."

Brennan smiled softly at her brother's concern, "I spend over half my time with a sniper-trained FBI Agent. I feel safe."

Russ still couldn't shake the feeling. "Tempe. I know someone is watching me."

Brennan didn't know what to think about that. She needed factual proof. "What's your evidence?"

Russ sat back in his chair as he told her honestly, "I can feel it on the back of my neck. You spend some time in jail, you develop a sixth sense."

Brennan didn't know whether to believe that or not. But she could tell that Russ was nervous, and that was enough for her. "Maybe you should stay with us for a few days."

Russ' eyes widened at that. He would have been fine if it was just her, but he just recently found out about her relationship with Booth and he really didn't want to deal with her over-protective husband – his little sister was married – so he tried to find something to get him out of it. "No, Tempe. I have work and I have, I have Amy and the girls…"

Brennan narrowed her eyes. If he was nervous about whoever was watching them, then he could only not want to stay with her because…She poked, "What about your sixth sense?"

Russ didn't believe that she went there. "Hey!"

Brennan laughed, having caught her brother in his little lie. "What?"

Russ shook his head as he told her, "You can't not believe in something one second and then use it against me in the next."

Brennan smiled at him, seeing that he wasn't going to tell her why he really didn't want to stay with her. So she tried another tactic. "It's a long drive. You can start fresh tomorrow and I've got cold beer in the fridge."

Booth came into her office and walked up to the two of them. "No, don't drink the Moroccan Beer, it tastes like earwax…how you doing, Russ?"

Russ stood up at Booth's voice. Like his baby sister said, sniper-trained. "Okay Booth." They shook hands as he asked – happy to see that Booth wasn't breaking any bones, yet, "You? Good?"

Booth nodded as he watched Russ fidget a little. "Yeah."

Russ nodded his head, "Good." Brennan took pity on her brother and tossed Russ her keys.

Booth watched him leave with a smirk on his face. He looked down at Brennan and smiled at her amused expression. "I still make him nervous, don't I?" She nodded her head, trying to hold back her laughter as Booth walked behind her. He gently tucked his hands under her arms and pulled her out of her seat, "Come on, let's go."

Brennan laughed breathlessly as he guided her out of her office by the hips. "Wha…What? Why do I always feel like you're abducting me!" He then playfully swatted her butt, it was discreet of course.

~BONES~

Brennan and Booth were looking around Garrett Delaney's apartment as Booth told her, "Garrett Delaney left the FBI about, uh, 15 years ago. He's now head of security of some big K Street lobbyist."

Brennan looked through some of his mail as she asked, "So why did he end up a human torch?"

Booth shook his head and laughed softly, "That's what we're here to find out, Bones."

Brennan looked around at the kitchen and living as she noted, "His place is much better than your old one. Ten times better."

Booth looked at some type of contraption that was on the stove as he said, "I told you, he left public service. He makes, uh, more money than I do. So that's all your dad said, huh, 'You're in danger'."

Brennan walked over to a locked door and smiled, finally being able to use some of the things Booth taught her. "Yes," she was trying to open the locked door using her credit card, "and Russ's sixth sense agrees."

Booth turned around to see what was distracting her. He smiled as he saw that Brennan was trying to open the door. He couldn't help but tease, "What are ya doin'?"

Brennan looked at him and smiled sheepishly, "I've been practicing some of the black ops stuff you taught me."

Booth walked towards her as he said laughing a little, "Let me show ya."

Brennan continued to work n the door as she said, "Every FBI Agent in the country is looking for my father, maybe he's trying to scare us off."

Booth walked behind her and told her, "Six months without a break in the case, he ain't gonna be nervous…let me show ya…"

Brennan turned to him, not relinquishing her card, and thought out loud, "You know. My dad's a career criminal. Just because he says Russ is in danger, doesn't mean it's the truth."

Booth gently took the credit card out of Brennan's hand and steered her a little bit away from the door as he said, "Let me show you how it's done, okay…" He then kicked the door open, revealing a room full of surveillance photos of Russ. Booth looked around in horror as he took everything in, "Oh. He might have gotten it right this time."

Brennan too looked at the images in horror and disgust. Her brother was right. "Russ. These are all pictures of Russ."

~BONES~

Brennan, Booth, and Russ were in the FBI conference room looking over the pictures that were taken. "Me at work. Me and Amy. This is the day before yesterday. Dad was right. Someone's watching."

Booth shook his head finally pointing out what he saw first. "This is worse than watching."

Brennan looked up at him worried. If Booth said that this was bad, then… "What do you mean?"

Booth sighed as he tried to figure out what best option they had, "This is hunting."

Russ looked at him confused, "Hunting."

Booth sighed. He knew exactly what this man had been doing. "As in kill. You see these," he pointed to the pictures, "right here. These are ranges. He's picking out a spot from which to shoot at you."

Russ was for once very happy that his sister was married to a sniper. The man knew what he was doing. "So what do I do now?"

Brennan looked at Booth, worried. He still hadn't said that the where safe. Why? "The hunter's dead. The hunt is over, right?"

Booth looked at her grimly before he turned and asked Russ, "Anyone else know you're here?"

Russ thought about it for a second and said, "Only Amy."

Booth tossed him his cell as he told him, "Great. You call Amy and tell her if anyone calls looking for you, she doesn't know where you're at."

Brennan could tell that whatever this was, it wasn't over. And she wasn't about to lose her brother again. "You should stay with us until we find out why Delaney intended to kill you."

Russ looked at her confused, "How are you going to do that?"

Booth told him honestly, "By figuring out who killed him."

~BONES~

Brennan and Booth exchanged glances, having both come to the realization that they knew that bank name. Brennan left the room, finally seeing why her dad warned them. Booth stood up to follow her outside as he excused himself to Barbara. Brennan turned on him immediately, "My parents robbed that exact bank just days after Gus Harper was killed. They were looking for that evidence. That has to be why Delaney was stalking Russ."

Booth grabbed her shoulders and squeezed softly as he whispered, "Go home. I have a few more questions for Barbara Harper. Okay. You go home and you be with your brother, alright? I'll be there soon."

Brennan nodded her head, "Okay." As she watched Booth go back in she said to herself as reassurance, "Okay."

~BONES~

Russ held two photographs of two young girls as he told Brennan, "Hayley's 6 and Emma's 8." Russ could tell that Brennan wasn't paying much attention to him and he sighed in aggravation, "Tempe."

Brennan looked at him, really looked at him for the first time that night and apologized, "I'm sorry. Preoccupied."

Russ put the pictures down and told her seriously, "If I play my cards right, these little girls are gonna be your nieces in the next couple of months, the least you can do is memorize their names."

Brennan picked up the pictures and looked at them. She smiled softly, "They're cute."

Russ smiled at the thought of his two girls. "Hayley has lung trouble. They're trying to figure it out. You ever deal with an HMO?"

Brennan looked at him concerned, "If it's money, Russ, I can help."

Russ waved that off and told her, "No. Forget it. If I'm gonna become these little girls daddy, I gotta man up for the job."

Brennan shook her head confused as she heard the door unlock, "That's not rational."

Russ tried to explain it, "I'm a good mechanic. I'll take care of my own."

The two both looked at the door as Booth walked in with a file in hand. "Gus Harper's - service history. 'kay. Graduated top half of his class at Quantico. He was assigned the joint State/Federal Bank Robbery Task Force. Right there." Booth walked over to the couch and sat down as he tossed the file on the table.

Brennan opened the file and looked at the picture. "The victim."

Booth nodded as he told her, "Back when he was Special Agent Delaney, supervising Gus Harper."

Russ scooted forward and looked down at the file as he started to piece of few things together, "The guy that was hunting me."

Booth's lips came into a firm line as he nodded again. "That's right. Okay, here's a list of the bank robber's with their FBI code names." He handed a list to Brennan from the file.

Brennan looked through the names and noticed, "Dad's code name was Columbus."

Booth threw down a picture after each name he listed off, "You got Lewis, Clark, Magellan, Cook, Columbus."

Brennan nodded as she took note of their names, "All named after explorers."

Russ pointed to two photos and said, "That's Mom and Dad."

Booth sighed as he told them the bad news, "Everyone of these people are deceased…"

Brennan looked at him, not wanting to believe what he was saying. "Except for Dad."

Booth held up a coin and told her softly, "Delaney was killed to send a message to the FBI. This Columbus coin was found in the victim's mouth."

Brennan didn't want to believe it, but that didn't mean that the facts didn't point to the obvious, "Columbus shot a man in the head, hung him from a pole, gutted him and set him on fire. And Columbus…is our father."

~BONES~

After saying goodnight to her brother, Brennan and Booth went into their bedroom, readying themselves for bed. Booth knew that she was taking the new information hard. She just found out that her own father had killed someone. That was a lot to deal with. So, as Brennan came out of their bathroom in one of his FBI t-shirts, he walked over to her. Without saying a word, he engulfed her in a hug.

She could never figure out how he did it, but Booth always knew when she needed one of those. A hug. It was such a simple thing – it shouldn't make her feel safe, protected, and like nothing bad would happen. In that hug she felt loved. She felt him rub soft, slowly circles on her back as he murmured soothingly nothings in her ear.

She didn't know why, but she needed to feel something more and Booth could sense it as well. Booth pulled away from her and grasped her face in-between his big hands and kissed her softly. Brennan's hands slid up his chest and gripped the fabric tightly as she deepened the kiss even more, sliding her tongue along his bottom lip which caused him to open his mouth in return. Before either of them knew it, they were lying in their bed – Brennan's shirt having long been taken off and Booth's clothing long gone as well. Booth was kneading one of her breasts while Brennan wrapped her legs around him and she smoothed her hands down his back. Booth looked at her heavy-lidded eyes and whispered huskily, "Babe, you gotta be quiet. You're brother's in the next room."

Brennan nodded mutely as she drew his arousal closer to her center. That was what she needed. She needed to feel complete and whole and just completely loved. Like she belonged to something good. Booth kissed her deeply, knowing that as he entered her she would moan in satisfaction, and muffled it. And they continued to kiss as they moved against each other. Soon though, Booth started to kiss the column of her neck as the rhythm increased. He knew that she was close to coming, that she was going to yell her release if she didn't try to muffle it. He kissed her earlobe and whispered gravelly, "Bite me, baby. Bite me."

Brennan wrapped her legs tighter around him and bit him in his shoulder as his next thrust caused her to cum. She heard Booth groan silently as he tried to muffle in her hair and pillow as he pumped two more times, hard, before he came. From his own release or from her bite, she didn't know. All she knew was that, what just happened there was something beyond amazing. They've always been amazing when they made love, or fucked each other senseless. But that, that was indescribable. She never felt so much emotion with someone in her life. And as she tried to control her breathing, feeling Booth's weight on her, she felt two very different emotions. Everlasting love (which she knew rationally was not possible) and fear (because how could one man make her feel something that was improbable).

~BONES~

Russ approached Booth, who was already seated at a table at the Royal Diner. Booth looked at Russ as he shook his head, "Russ…"

Russ sat down across from Booth and said, "Okay. I'm here. What's up?"

Booth took a sip of his coffee as he told him, "You know, you're an idiot, Russ. I like you but – you're a real idiot."

Russ looked at Booth confused, "What'd I do?"

Booth leaned forward as he told him the reason they were there – without Brennan. "I got a call from your parole officer today."

Russ' brow furrowed trying to play dumb, "Why?"

Booth snorted at that. "Why? Because you crossed state lines without informing him. I just told him you were aiding in an FBI investigation."

Russ sighed in relief. "Thanks."

Booth wasn't going to break this news to his wife now with everything else happening, not like this. "You're slipping, aren't ya?"

Russ leaned forward and told him honestly, "Look. I wanna marry Amy and raise her kids. One of them is sick, that costs money. I'm a felon on parole, I work part-time as a mechanic. You tell me what job am I gonna get that lets me be the man I need to be to raise a family."

Booth sighed as he shook his head, "You got this sick little girl depending on you, I get that. But you go back inside and you cross that line, you're not helping anyone out…" Before he could finish his thought though, a shot was fired through the window. Booth and Russ fell to the ground for protection as Booth yelled, "Everybody down!" Booth looked out the window looking for their attacker as Russ put his hand against his neck, wincing as he touched the flesh wound. Booth looked at Russ concerned. Bones was going to kill him.

~BONES~

The four of them were in Booth's office listening to the news, "Civil rights activist and convicted murderer, Marvin Beckett, when a second autopsy on his alleged victim, FBI Agent Gus Harper, revealed inconsistencies with Mr. Beckett's trial back in 1979."

Father Coulter asked, "What kind of inconsistencies?"

Booth shut the television off and walked to his desk. "Well, you have your confidences to keep, Father. I have mine."

Brennan gripped her brother's arm as she asked Booth, "It's over right? Now that it's out, there's no reason to kill Russ"

Booth sat down as he shook his head sadly, "Ah, ya know. The men behind this don't care about Marvin Beckett, they care about being exposed."

Brennan sighed. At least Booth was there. "Lucky you were together. Why were you together?"

Booth tried to play it off as nothing. He really didn't want to upset Bones more than necessary. "Oh, ya know. A man's gotta eat."

Father Coulter smiled as he looked at Booth, "To think that ah, some people still refuse to believe in guardian angels."

Brennan watched as Father Coulter patted Russ's shoulder with an open palm. Deputy Director Kirby walked into Booth's office pissed off and yells, "Booth!" He signals with a pointed finger for Booth to join him and Booth stood up immediately, looking flustered and nervous. Everyone turned to look at the intimidating man as Booth tightened his tie.

Russ looked at Booth, seeing for the first time that the man was nervous asked, "Who's that?"

Booth rolled down his sleeves and told them, "Deputy Director Kirby. My boss's boss's boss." Man he was in some deep shit, and he knew it.

~BONES~

The squint squad and Booth were in the lounge as Brennan asked him still in disbelief, "Can they do that? Just kick you out without any warning?"

Booth snorted softly as he thought back, "Well, the two guys standing behind me, with the guns, seemed to think so."

Zach, paying no real attention to what was happening told the group, "As you can see, Harper's ribs and sternum were practically obliterated by the two shots to his torso."

Angela sighed, "Zach, Booth got fired."

Brennan looked at her at her wording. No, he couldn't be fired because she would not work with anyone else. "Suspended, not fired."

Cam sighed as she told her, "Suspended, is FBI speak for fired."

Booth groaned slightly in disbelief, "Ah. You know what hurts the most? They took the car. Got no wheels." Now he had to either buy a new car or drive Bones' car…new car it was then.

Zach continued on with the evidence, "The bullets themselves, removed from the body – of course, but Hodgins found some very small fragments…"

Hodgins told the group, "Copper, lead, polymer. This is a conspiracy, baby."

Cam looked at everyone telling them what was really happening. "Guys. What we're dealing with here is that – Booth - won't be working with us anymore."

Booth sighed as he was still trying to get over the fact that he didn't have his car. "Well, I got my own gun, it's just – god, why did they have to take the company car…."

Zach looked at Cam confused, "I assume the only way Booth can get his car back, would be to solve the case on his own and that we'd help."

Booth turned around and shook his head, "Oh, no. No, no. I can't let you guys do that."

Brennan smiled crookedly and said, "Anyone that wants to help Booth, raise their hands." She raised her hand followed by everyone else. At that, Booth smiled widely. Brennan's team had his back.

Zach nodded as he went on, again, with the facts, "Alright. I reversed engineered to find the most likely design of the bullets. After the bullet spread, lead pellets were released – like buckshot."

Booth looked at that and was stunned, "Wait a second. That's a homemade round invented back in the 70's."

Hodgins nodded as his eyes lit up in glee, "We're talking a military-issues, M40A1 sniper rifle."

Booth looked at him surprised with his knowledge. "Nice."

Hodgins leaned back and shrugged, "Dude. What you call being a 'conspiracy theorist', I call being well informed."

Angela stopped everyone at that news. "Wait. Gus Harper was murdered by a military sniper?"

Booth nodded his head slowly as it started to all make sense. "Who makes his own rounds."

Brennan looked at him hopeful, "Maybe we can compare it to the bullet that grazed Russ?"

Booth sighed and shook his head, "I'm a civilian. We don't have access to that round." That's when he thought, "Maybe Caroline can help us."

~BONES~

Booth asked Caroline as he walked down the Jeffersonian hallway, "You still have a job?"

Caroline side and said annoyed, "Not for long I'm on performance review."

Booth winced slightly at that and told her, "Well, look. None of the bank robber on the FBI robbery task force has sniper training in the 70's. I need to know who else was on that task force. Local…"

Brennan started running down the hallway calling out to him, "Booth."

Booth continued to speak to Caroline, "State cops…"

Brennan thought of something very clever as he had gone to talk with their friend. "Booth!"

Booth looked at Bones giving her a confused look at her excitement and said to Caroline, "ATF…"

Brennan still running to him said, "Booth! I got it figured out."

Booth looked at her with wide eyes and finished his conversation with Caroline, "…and if any of them had sniper training. Once you find out, you keep your head down."

Caroline snorted at that, "Task force, sniper training, 70's, duck. Got it."

Booth hung up as Brennan smiled at him excitedly, "I figured out a way to solve the case and get your job back."

Booth smiled back at her. "Wow. That would be great."

Brennan nodded as she told him her plan, "We need my father to give us the rest of the evidence he stole from that safety deposit box."

Booth didn't know about this plan anymore. "Great…"

Brennan grabbed him by his arm and said, "I'll drive." Man she's wanted to say that for a very long time.

~BONES~

Booth had just walked into Brennan's office from dropping off Parker at the nanny's place – they had gotten a rental for him, for now – and he knew she was mad at him, but he just didn't know why. "Why are ya mad at me?"

Brennan gave him a look as she sat down in her office chair behind her desk and sighed, "I need a gun."

Booth sat down on her couch and told her seriously, "No, you don't. You got me. I'm your gun. You want equipment, here," he held up handcuffs and put them on the table, "have these, alright. New division of labor. I shoot 'em, you cuff 'em."

Brennan looked down at her hands and whispered, "Why didn't you tell me you had Father Coulter under surveillance?"

Booth winced slightly at her words. He had suspected that to be the reason, but wasn't positive. "It is my job to find your dad and put him in prison."

Brennan looked up at him confused, "And you don't think I'll help?"

Booth knew she was rational but he never wanted to put this on her. "What? He's your father. I really don't think I should have to ask you to help."

Brennan looked at him and told him seriously, "He abandoned me, Booth. And that's the best thing you can say about him."

Booth leaned forward and said, "Your father lives by a certain code, and part of that code is defending his family by whatever means necessary."

Brennan added, "You mean killing people and setting their corpses on fire."

Booth sighed. "Any means necessary sorta covers that."

Brennan narrowed her eyes, noticing his attitude. "You respect him?"

Booth shrugged his shoulders. He didn't exactly agree with what he did, but he was protecting someone he loved in a way and that he could understand. "I'm just saying, in his world, he's a very honorable man."

Brennan sat back and told him, "That's ridiculous. There's only one world; it's this one."

Booth leaned forward and told her getting to the heart of the matter, "Would that be the one world where you're mad at me for trying to catch your father or the other world where you actually want him caught?"

Brennan huffed in frustration, "Neither."

Booth shook his head. "Well, you have to pick one."

Brennan knew that Booth knew she was lying. She crossed her arms and glared at him, "Both."

Caroline thankfully walked in then and said, "Dr. Brennan, Agent Booth. I thought you'd like to meet the reason we're all losing our jobs and gettin' shot at. This is Mr. Marvin Beckett."

Marvin walked in a shook their hands as he said, "I wanted to thank you, personally."

Brennan smiled, "You're welcome, Mr. Beckett."

Marvin told them seriously, "Thirty years ago, crooked Agents put me in jail for something I did not do. I did not kill the young FBI Agent. I did not steal the money and I thank you for proving it to the world. That's why I'm here, to tell you to your face, to assure you I did not do those things. You free'd an innocent man and in return, I must warn you. The people that did this to me aren't just a bunch of corrupt cops. They server masters of MUCH greater influence. You're looking to bring their world down around their ears. They will strike at you. Watch yourselves."

Caroline handed a piece of paper to Booth and told him concerned, "Here's your list of snipers from the decade of disco. This time, I'm advising you - Duck."

Brennan looked at Booth and asked, "Anyone you know?"

Booth nodded his head in disbelief, "Yeah. The ATF ref on the task force was a marine sniper, Robert Kirby."

Brennan looked at him, shocked, "FBI Deputy Director, Robert Kirby? That just suspended you?"

Booth had a sinking feeling in his stomach, "Call your brother, tell him to get out of the house. Tell him to get out, now."

Brennan picked up the phone to call Russ as she asked worried, "Why? What's going on?"

Booth told her seriously, "Seconds after Caroline got this list, Kirby knew about it."

Brennan looked at Booth as she listened to the phone ringing. "He's not answering. I don't understand, Booth."

Booth shook his head as he threaded his fingers through his hair, "It's not us that Kirby is afraid of, it's your father. The only way to strike at him, is to go through you or Russ. Kirby was the one that took a shot at Russ."

Brennan listened as the call went to the voicemail. "No answer."

~BONES~

Booth didn't even wait to put his key in the lock, instead opting to kick the door in. He yelled as he entered with his gun drawn, "Russ!"

Brennan walked past him calling out, "Hello."

But Booth stopped her by grabbing her arm, "All right, just stay back."

Brennan nodded as she stayed behind Booth as he swept through the apartment, "Russ?"

Booth looked at everything and told her, "There's no sign of a break-in. I'll check the back. Russ!"

Brennan nodded as he went to check their rooms, "Russ?" At that moment, Brennan saw a pool of blood on the floor in front of her. "Oh, my god. Booth?"

Booth came running out at the tone in her voice, "What?"

Brennan pointed to the pool of blood as tears came to her eyes, "Russ."

Booth holstered her gun and told her calmly, "Alright, just take it easy. Alright, we don't know that for sure.

Brennan took in a shaky breath as she said, "That's too much blood. Nobody could survive tha- that much blood loss. Nobody."

Booth held her as she fell into his arms, holding him tightly. He whispered, "Alright. Okay. It's alright."

Brennan couldn't believe it. Her brother…"Oh my god."

~BONES~

Father Coulter finished his story, "Wham! You took that doll and you wound up and you hit your brother so hard you knocked him flat as a pancake. I said to your mother, "No one, no one will ever jump out at that girl again." And your mother said, 'Just like you Max. She's just like you.'"

Brennan watched as he sat down on the bench, finally realizing who Father Coulter really is. "Hair color, plastic surgery, colored contact lenses, chin and cheek implants, fifteen years older. Still, I should have seen it." She sat down next to him and asked, "Russ knew it was you all along?"

Max nodded as he looked down, "Yeah."

Brennan sighed, "You talk to Russ, but not to me?"

Max laughed softly, "You know. To tell you the truth, you do – you do better without me and Russ does worse. Take this." He handed her his Bible.

Brennan shook her head, "I'm not religious."

Max smiled and laughed again, "No. We're gonna play this your way. Please."

She thumbed through the book and saw the evidence they needed, "This is Gus Harpers journal."

Max nodded as he told her, "There's a key there that's to a safety deposit box. In that safety deposit box, is all the evidence."

Brennan looked at her dad confused, "Why didn't you give it to them? Back in 1978."

Max looked down sadly, "Because your mother took one look at it and said 'If you turn this over to them, they will kill us. And our kids.'"

Brennan sighed sadly, "They got Mom anyway."

Max nodded and sniffed softly at his wife's memory. "Yeah, there's not a day that goes by that my heart is not broken."

Russ pulled up in a truck and yelled, "Dad! Come on."

Max looked over and then back at her, "I gotta go."

He went to stand up but as he did, Brennan hugged him and whispered, "Wait. I can't let you go."

Max hugged her back, knowing what she's going to do. "Oh, I love you too."

Brennan shook her head, "No. I mean I can't let you go." She kicked him and he fell to the ground. "I'm sorry."

Max fakes, "Ooh. I must be getting old. I let you get the drop on me." Russ got out of the car and came around to the side, but Max signaled to him that it's okay.

Brennan got the handcuffs out and told him, "I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I just can't let you get away."

Max reversed her hold and put the handcuffs on her and cuffed her to the bench, whispering in her ear, "I'm sorry. Listen to me. If you find somebody that you can trust, you hang on to 'em. Remember that."

Russ yelled, "Dad! Let's go!"

Max said before he kissed her on her head, "I'm proud of you, I love you."

Max headed to the truck just as Booth pulled up in Caroline's car. Russ yelled, "Dad, get in."

Max looked at Booth as he told her, before heading to the car, "You take care of her."

Booth pulled his gun and ordered, "FBI. Stop or I'll shoot."

Brennan was near tears. "Booth." Max got in the truck as Brennan called out again. "Booth. Booth!"

Booth looked at her and slowly lowered his gun and raced to Brennan's side, as Russ and Max drive away but not before backing into Caroline's car. Booth threw his hands up in the air, "Right. I mean, did he really have to hit the car? I wasn't gonna chase him." Brennan sat down on the bench, defeated. Booth sat next to her and put his hand on her thigh, asking softly, "You okay?" Brennan sighed and rested her head against his shoulder.

~BONES~

Booth approached the Royal Diner and saw the squints celebrating and waved Brennan outside. Brennan asked, "What happened?"

Booth smiled slightly as he told her the good news. "The uh, Attorney general took one look at the uh, evidence your father provided and you know, he reinstated me."

Brennan smiled at him and squeezed his arm, "I'm glad."

Booth sobered up a little as he told her something else, "Listen, we uh, found another burned body. Same place, same setup."

Brennan sighed and looked down, already knowing the answer. "Kirby?"

Booth nodded as he held up a coin, "I'm pretty sure. It was Kirby's blood in your apartment."

Brennan blew out a deep breath and said, "Dad's still trying to warn people , 'Leave me and Russ alone'."

Booth shook his head as he watched her closely, "No, Russ. He's safe with your father. They're warning people to stay away from you." He then whispered, "You know what? I'm sorry, that you had to go through it again. Watching your family drive off, leaving you behind. I'm sorry."

Brennan shook her head in disgust as she looked at him, "My father is, is…"

Booth whispered softly, "He's your dad, and he loves you."

Brennan looked at him a few more seconds before looking down and said, "Ya know. I'm just…I'm just one of those people who doesn't get to be in her own family. That's…"

Booth placed his finger underneath her chin, lifting her head up. "Listen, Bones, hey. There's more than one kind of family. We're a family. What we have, that's our family." They held each other's gaze again until they're interrupted by Zach knocking on the diner window to get their attention. Booth laughed softly, "Well, hell, Zach got the job, right?"

Brennan smiled and nodded. "Come in and congratulate him."

Booth shook his head, "Nah, you know he's your squint, not my squint."

Brennan grabbed his hand and intertwined their fingers, "No, Booth…we are all of us, your squints." Booth smiled at her and let her pull him into the diner as she told him, "Do me a favor and pat Zach on the shoulder with an open hand."

Booth looked at her confused, "What? Why? Does that mean something?" All Brennan could do was laugh as they entered the diner, with Brennan grabbing his arm once their friends could see them.

* * *

 **A/N: So there you have it. Max doesn't know. And did you like how I added that little bit leading to the angst =P**


	12. Chapter 12

**Disclaimer - As much as I would love to have wrote bones and made a series I know I don't own it**

* * *

 **Chapter 12 – The Man in the Cell**

Prisoners were yelling very loudly as Booth, Brennan, and the Warden walked down corridor towards the cell. Booth shouted over the yells, "Hey, where'd the fire start?"

The Warden shrugged his shoulders, "Not sure yet. It spread through the ducting though."

Booth looked over at Bones as she yawned and joked, "Maybe you'd like something a little bit more exciting, huh? Like Attica."

Brennan glared at him, knowing full well that he knew why she was tired. He had complained that they had a case when their phones rang that morning, saying that he wanted to sleep in. She whispered, "You know the neighbors are renovating their apartment and one of the workmen left his radio on. Hip hop is not conducive to sleep."

One of the prisoners yelled, "Get me out of here."

Brennan looked at the prisoners with wide eyes as she asked the Warden, "Whoa. Are you allowed to put that many men in one cell?"

Booth sighed at her snappiness. He knew what it was like to deal with a sleep deprived Bones. So he tried to take the blunt of her crankiness, "Just cut the warden a little slack, okay, Bones? There was a riot."

The Warden could tell that the little lady was having a bad day. He told placating, "The cell doors open automatically in a fire. The guards had to subdue the inmates so the firefighters could do their jobs."

As Brennan passed the one of the cells full of prisoners, one grabbed her arm and pulled her toward the cell. Booth grabbed Brennan immediately and pulled her away from the prisoner shooting him a death glare and put her between him and the Warden, with his arm wrapped around her shoulder. "Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa. You stay close, okay? A lot of these animals haven't seen a real woman since Reagan was president."

Brennan nodded her head in agreement. "Okay."

The Warden pointed at a cell, "Body's in here."

Booth nodded his head as he looked down at the cell, "Okay, you're sure this is Howard Epps?"

The Warden told him simply, "This was his cell."

Brennan looked down at the charred body and asked, "Why not keep him on death row?"

The Warden explained, "We don't have one. He was transferred to Bayview so he'd be closer to the courthouse for his trial."

Brennan knelt down as she finally started to examine the remains, "Victim is male, approximately 30 years of age. He matches Epps general size and build. Contortion indicates a…" she smiled a little, "painful death."

Booth chuckled softly at her smile, "Well, after killing four teenage girls that we know about it's just what the doctor ordered."

Brennan saw something interesting, "It seems as if someone threw accelerate on him, lit him on fire."

Booth looked at the Warden and asked, "Hey, look. Any idea who'd want him dead?"

The Warden shrugged his shoulders, again, and said, "All the inmates hated him. Once the fire started, it was . . . It was chaos. Could've been anyone."

Brennan examined the wrist that she broke on Epps and saw something that was not right, "Booth?"

Booth looked down at her, "Yeah?"

Brennan pointed to the arm, "This is the wrist I broke."

Booth shrugged, not getting the point. "So?"

Brennan looked at him with worry evident in her voice, "So this break is fresh."

Booth still didn't get it, but he could tell something was seriously wrong by her tone of voice, "So? Bones, they break in a fire, right?"

Brennan nodded slowly, "Yes, but . . . there's no sign of a prior break. This man's wrist was slammed against a hard edge within the last few hours."

Booth's eyes widened at that, finally seeing what she was saying. But he feared the worst. "Whoa, what are you saying?"

Brennan exhaled slowly trying to stay calm and rational. "This is not Howard Epps."

The Warden shook this head, "That's impossible."

Booth turned on him immediately, very unhappy with this 'dumb Warden routine'. "Okay, look. All your prisoners, are they accounted for?"

The Warden backed away a little and said, "They are if this is Epps."

Booth suppressed his sigh of frustration. He was tired and now pissed off, "What about the guards?"

The Warden told him, "They've all reported in."

Brennan then noticed something very interesting. "Whoa."

Booth looked at her even more surprised, "What now, whoa?"

Brennan flashed her light at what she saw, "The dye from the tattoo survived the fire. D.C. Fire Department. He was a firefighter."

Booth couldn't believe it. "So you're saying that the fireman comes in to save Epps, but Epps kills him, takes his uniform, sets him on fire."

Brennan shook her head in disgust, "And walks right out the front door." She threw her surgical gloves onto the floor as she stood up.

The Warden definitely couldn't believe it. "Son of a bitch."

Booth went straight into work-mode. He ordered, "Lock this place down now."

The Warden yelled to guards as he turned and walked away, "I want this whole block locked down! No one in or out!"

Booth pulled out his phone on called it in. "It's Booth. I need you to close off a 30 mile radius of the Bayview Federal Penitentiary. Howard Epps escaped."

~BONES~

Brennan couldn't believe that Booth was letting her go. "What- You can't let her go! She's not safe!"

Booth shook his head as he sighed, "Well, I can't force her to take protection, alright? I'll have the local police drive her house every couple of hours and make sure she's safe." Booth leaned forward and looked at her seriously, "And you know what? You're not safe either."

Brennan looked at him confused, "But I'm not unhinged. I can take care of myself."

Booth shook his head slowly. He wasn't going to let her be out in the open like that. "You and Epps, okay, it's personal. You're everything that he hates."

Brennan titled her head and asked, "And what is that exactly?"

Booth smiled as he told her, "Well, you know, you're a smart, strong, confident woman." Brennan smiled at his words softly as he continued, "And, you figured him out. You made him feel powerless so he's gonna want to, uh, prove that, you're weak and inferior. So, you are not to go out on your own, ever." He then gave her a stern look that she knew she should follow.

~BONES~

Cam was just walking to door when Booth walked into the autopsy room. "Hi."

She smiled at him, "Hey, did the wife give you anything?"

Booth joked lightly, "Oh, chills." He then became serious as to why he was there, "Look, I need you to double security here at the lab."

Cam nodded in understanding, "You think Epps is gonna come after Brennan?"

Booth hated the idea, but he couldn't take any risks, "I can't rule anything out when it comes to Epps."

Cam nodded, "I'll take care of it."

Booth didn't know whether to say his next thought. But Cam was still his friend and that made her important in her life. "Look, I-I don't want you to be alone either."

Cam smirked and joked – sorta – "Are you inviting me over?"

Booth shook his head and chuckled, "I'm just thinking that everyone should just stay here at the lab."

Cam smirked, "Leave it to a serial killer to spoil the mood."

Booth shook his head again, "Cam…"

She raised her hands. She knew when she was beat and whoever Booth was with apparently was for keeps. She would be fine just being his friend. "I was joking Seeley."

Booth nodded his head, happy to see that she knew he was serious. "Whatever security you think is enough, you double it, Camille."

Cam walked over to him and hugged him tightly as she said, "I'm glad you're on my side, Seeley."

Booth smiled at her as he pulled away. She smiled as he turned and left.

~BONES~

Angela sat in Brennan's office as she held up a picture of a man in uniform and handed it to Brennan. Brennan was standing in front of a board with a map with lines drawn on it linked to pictures of remains and pictures of victims as Angela told her, "The burn victim is Donald Kent, a decorated firefighter."

Brennan snorted in disgust, "Epps would appreciate the irony."

Angela shook her head sadly, "You know Kent was still alive when he was set on fire? How many victims does that make?"

Brennan sighed, "Seven that we know of."

Angela was sickened by this case and she didn't know if she could make it through it. "And they aren't just young blonde women anymore."

Brennan sat down as she looked over her shoulder at the board behind her. "No, they aren't."

Angela told her in disbelief, "He's such a monster. He's killed from behind bars and new victims keep turning up and now he's out."

Brennan reassured her, "We will find him, Ange. We're ready this time."

Angela shook her head as she looked down, "I'm not. Look, I have some sick days coming. And I was thinking that since Epps makes me sick, that…"

Brennan leaned forward and whispered, "We need you, Ange. Hodgins certainly does."

Angela glared at her slightly, "That was low."

Brennan raised her eyebrows as she tried not to smile, "I know. Did it work?"

Angela smiled softly at her. She then asked seriously, "How do you deal with the fear?"

Brennan reached down to grab her purse, got up and sat the purse on the desk. "I…have this." She reached into her purse. She pulled out a very large, very shiny gun. She flipped it open and closed it, smiling widely.

Angela stood up as she said, "Oh, my God. That…That thing is huge. Whoa, wow. That's like, movie huge."

Booth walked in just then and saw his wife holding a very big gun. "Where the hell did you get that?"

Brennan smiled at him. She knew how much he didn't want her to have a gun. "The mall."

Booth looked at her in disbelief, "The mall?"

Brennan nodded proudly, "Yeah, it's pretty big, right? Bigger than the one you have."

Booth pointed at her and said, "Excuse me. It's not the size that matters. It's how you use it."

Brennan smiled suggestively at him and said with a glint in her eyes, "Well, I think size is pretty important."

Booth saw her eyes darken a little and tried to control his own body's reaction to her words. "The point is that you shouldn't have a gun in the first place!"

Angela completely not missing their little interchange told him with a smirk, "If you do have one, bigger is always better."

Booth went back talking about the run and told her, "You're not helping!"

Angela nodded her head, happy to see something between the two of them finally. "Right, yeah. This does seem like a private conversation."

Booth watched her leave as he looked at Brennan sternly, "Yeah, private. Okay." He then pointed at the gun, "You know, people see you with that, the next thing you know everyone in this place is gonna start packing."

Brennan smiled at him and said, "This is America. Get used to it." Booth was about to say something to get back at her for her little stint in front of Angela but then her phone rang.

~BONES~

Booth was driving and Brennan was in the passenger seat as she said, "Marian Epps is clearly a bad mother."

Booth chuckled softly, "You think?"

Brennan sighed as she told him in frustration, "But a lot of people have bad mothers and they don't up to be serial killers which is why I don't put much stock in psychology."

Booth tried to reason with her. "Listen, Bones, I don't care how you explain it, alright? The guy, he's an animal. He's got no conscience."

Brennan looked out her window as she said, "I don't know how one draws moral distinctions between killers."

Booth grabbed her hand and yanked slightly to make her look at him. "Listen, Bones, alright, there are crimes of passion, alright, crimes committed out of desperation, which are usually followed by remorse or acknowledgment of human failing. The key word here is human."

Brennan sighed again, "The reasons for killing someone are unimportant. It- The life that's taken is all that matters."

Booth looked at her briefly as he said, "Listen, you can't blame yourself here."

Brennan looked at him desperately, "It's me he's after. Angela and everyone else, they shouldn't be involved."

Booth squeezed her hand and told her, "Alright. Look. It's not your fault, alright? It's all Epps, which is why I'm gonna take this little bastard down."

Brennan smiled at him at his admission. She then noticed something in the rear view mirror. "Booth, we're being followed."

Booth smiled as he chuckled, "Mm-hmm. That's right. Two agents, all the time, at a very discreet distance. See, I don't care how big your gun is. Alright?" His cell phone rang then. He grabbed it surprised, "What's this? Booth."

Cam told him, "Something was inserted in Caroline's ear. Epps made an incision in Caroline's left ear canal, inserted a token for a kid's ride from a place called Hillside Park."

Booth looked at Brennan in horror, Booth hung up and turned to Brennan, "Oh, God. Parker plays there every day after school." Booth hit the siren and did a u-turn as Brennan looked at him worried.

~BONES~

Booth and Brennan ran around the path toward the merry-go round in Hillside Park. Booth yelled to the other agents, "Parker comes here every day at 4 with his nanny." He then saw the nanny and grabbed her elbow. "Rose, where's Parker?"

Rose looked at Booth and Brennan confused, "On the merry-go-round. He was just there!"

Booth jumped onto the merry-go-round as Brennan ram around the other side. He started to yell, "Parker! Parker!"

Brennan called out, starting to panic, "Parker!"

Booth ran through the rows of horses as he yelled again, "Parker! Parker!"

Brennan watched as the horses went by, "Parker! Parker!"

Rose called out, "Parker!"

Brennan now was definitely freaking out like Booth. "Parker!"

Rose yelled, "Parker!"

Booth was going to kill Epps. "Parker. Parker!"

Brennan started to look around frantically and then she saw it. Parker was at the ice-cream vendor. She yelled to her husband, "Booth."

Booth looked at her with fear in his eyes, "What?"

Brennan pointed at his son, "Over there."

Booth broke out into a run as he finally saw him, "Parker. Parker! Parker!"

Brennan ran after him as Parker start to run towards Booth, carrying an ice cream cone. "Daddy!"

Booth slid down to his knees and he picked up Parker and hugged him tight, his hand cradling his head. "Hey. Oh, God. Alright."

Parker didn't know why his dad and Bones were there but he was happy about it. "Look. A man bought me ice cream."

Booth looked at his son, looking for any harm done to him. "Alright. Alright." He threw down the ice cream as he looked at him.

Parker looked down at his ice cream, upset. "That was my favorite."

Booth didn't want to scare him, but the adrenaline was still pumping. "I'll buy you another one, okay? Just listen to me. What did this man look like?"

Parker shrugged, "A man. He said he was your friend."

Booth grabbed his son's shoulders and asked sternly, "What did he say to you? Did he say anything else to you, Parker?"

Parker didn't know why his dad was angry but he started to sniff as he told him, "To use my napkin."

Brennan knelt down and picked up the napkin, "Booth."

He took the napkin from Brennan and read it aloud, "My name is Parker. Ask me how I can solve this case." He turned to Parker and said, "Alright. What else did he tell you?"

Parker shrugged his shoulders, "Nothing. He was just nice."

Booth finally started to break a little. "Okay. Just listen to me, Parker. Alright? This man is trying to hurt Daddy's friends, okay? So I need you to think. What else did he say to you?"

Parker started to sniffle again as he told his dad, "I didn't do anything wrong. He said he was your friend."

Booth told him sternly, "You never talk to strangers, okay? You never!" Parker began to cry at his words. He didn't like it when his dad was mad at him. Booth felt Brennan's hand go to his shoulder and whisper his name. He knew he was out of line, but this was something he never experienced before. He brought Parker into a tight hug and whispered, "I'm sorry, buddy. It's okay. Alright? I'm sorry."

Rose asked Booth scared, "What's going on, Mr. Booth?"

Booth looked at her, "There's just an investigation going on, okay, Rose? I'm gonna have these agents take you and Parker home and keep you safe. Alright? I'm sorry. It's okay." He hugged Parker tightly again as Brennan knelt down and raked her fingers through Parker's hair and she squeezed his shoulders.

~BONES~

Cam answered her ringing phone, "Saroyan."

Booth nearly yelled, "Have you opened the head yet?"

Cam sighed, "I just finished telling Zach…"

Booth snapped, "Listen, Epps just went after my kid, Cam."

Cam took in a breath, "Parker."

Booth wanted to cry and scream and just punch something, "You know there's something there. He told us. It's something we need. He wants us to find it."

Cam tried to placate him, "You're upset."

Booth didn't care anymore. "Of course I'm upset! Listen, I know there are protocols, but he could've killed my son." Booth then hung up.

Brennan knew that he was still getting over the fear. She brought her hand up to his neck and rubbed it softly as she whispered, "Parkers fine Booth. He's safe. Just try to relax. Okay, babe, relax."

Booth pulled over slowly and parked the car. He slowly took in his breath and leaned his head against his steering wheel. "God, Bones. He could've killed Parks." Brennan continued to rub his neck as he calmed down, whispering nonsense to soothe him. This case was getting to everyone too much…and she needed to put an end to it.

~BONES~

Booth told Hodgins, "Just work fast, okay, Hodgins? Just work fast." Hodgins nodded his head as he left the two.

Brennan slipped her hand in his and whispered, "Considering the relationship between you and Cam, I'd like to say the right thing, Booth…I don't know what it is. Usually I'd-I'd ask you or Angela."

Booth smiled softly at her and kissed her gently, "You just said it. Thanks."

~BONES~

Cam was in her bed, intubated, eyes closed. Booth was sitting in a chair to the left of the bed looking anxious. Brennan walked in with an agent behind her. Booth looked up and saw her there. "Hey, Hodgins find the poison?"

Brennan shook her head, "Not yet." She walked toward the bed. She knew Booth was feeling guilty for everything that happened to Cam and there was nothing she could do nothing about that, no matter what she said. "How's Cam?"

Booth sighed, "Its worse. She can't breathe on her own. They- Uh- Bones, I really need you to find out what she inhaled."

Brennan nodded. She would because if she didn't, it would really be her fault. Everything. "Epps called and left me a clue."

Booth walked over to her and brought her into a hug. He didn't care what the agent saw, he needed to hug his wife. He whispered, "What is it?"

Brennan hugged him back as she told him softly, "He said, 'The body knows what the head can't say.'"

Booth looked at her as he pulled away, "Caroline's body."

Brennan nodded, "I think so, yes. You were right. He was pretty upset when he found out that we had his mother."

Booth chuckled as he brushed a piece of her hair behind her hair, "You told him? That's good. Make the bastard sweat."

Brennan sighed, "He said we'd be sorry." She left his embrace and whispered, "I'll call you as soon as we have something to go on."

Booth grabbed her hand to stop her and told her, "Bones, I'm coming with you, alright? Hold on, alright? This is gonna take all of us." Booth leaned down and kissed Cam on the forehead like she was his sister. He turned to Bones and said, "Okay, I'll drive."

~BONES~

Booth was standing as Zach and Brennan were sitting on the couch. Hodgins came running in. "Methyl bromide mixed with plaster dust. That's what made it so hard to isolate."

Booth looked at him happily, "What's the treatment?"

Hodgins tried to calm him down. "Racemic epinephrine. I called the hospital, they're starting an I.V."

Brennan looked at him, "Shouldn't you be there for that?"

Hodgins shrugged his shoulders. He knew now that Cam was just friends with Booth and that meant something as well. "Hey, priorities in life, man. One, be there when someone you love comes back from the brink of death. Two, catch the serial killer. Everything after that is basically unimportant."

Booth sighed as he nodded his head, "I'm gonna go see Cam at the hospital." He then pointed at his wife, "And you are gonna go home and get some sleep?"

Zach looked at him confused, "Why can't I go home?"

Booth looked at him exasperated, "Didn't you just hear what they said on the news? You're dead."

Brennan looked at Booth, "What about Epps?"

Booth shook his head already ahead of her, "I got an entire surveillance team outside the house, watching you. Why does everybody question me, right? I'm the hero."

~BONES~

Booth looked down at her and whispered, "Camille?"

Cam looked up and smiled, "Seeley."

Booth chuckled, "Don't call me Seeley."

Cam laughed softly as well, "Don't call me Camille."

Booth smiled down at her and asked, "How you feeling, Cam?"

Cam told him, "Like I got poisoned by a disembodied head full of plaster dust."

Booth thought about that for a second, when it started to make sense, "Plaster dust. Plaster dust."

~BONES~

Brennan left the shower running as the mirror fogged up, with music playing. A piece of drywall was pushed in and Epps crawled through and pushed open the closet door, holding a crow bar. He rounded the corner looking toward the bathroom. At the front door, Booth was looking in, gun in hand, and the two agents were behind him as he whispered, "Check the apartment next door." Epps approached the bathroom. Brennan rounded the corner, dry and dressed, gun in hand. Booth's gun clicked as he walked toward Epps, who started to back away from Brennan. "Dead end."

Brennan asked Booth, "You won't let me shoot him, will you?"

Booth didn't know whether to be angry with her or more with himself. "You knew he was gonna be here, didn't you?"

Brennan shrugged, "It's the only scenario that made sense."

Booth watched as Epps backed away, "Oh. What, you heading for the balcony, Howie? Hope you can fly, cause that's about a fifty foot drop, right?" He looked at Bones slightly as he said the last part.

Brennan smirked, "Yeah."

Epps looked at Brennan in complete shock, "How did you know?"

Brennan smirked, "Plaster dust in the poison."

Booth told him, "Renovations to the apartment next door."

Brennan taunted slightly, "You're not all that smart, turns out."

Epps looked at Brennan with a sneer, "One minute. All I want is one minute alone with you."

Brennan would love that. "Fine with me."

Booth shot her a glare. "Don't provoke the lunatic, alright?" He looked at Epps, "You got nowhere to go."

Epps shook his head, "I'm not going back to jail."

Booth shook his head, "You see, that's really not your decision, Howie. Get your hands up. Drop the crowbar." Epps threw the crowbar at the lamp, breaking it and casted the room into darkness. He dashed out the balcony. Booth shouted as Brennan ran after him, "In the line of fire, Bones." Epps jumped off the balcony and Booth grabbed him by the arm. "You're not getting away, Howard."

Brennan showed up on his side as Epps panted out, "Look who the killer is now, Agent Booth."

Booth held onto Epps and he said, "A little help here, Bones? I got nothing but dead weight here. Help me."

Brennan tried to reach but was not able to get to him, "Sorry. Can't reach."

Booth told Epps, "Grab the railing."

Epps told him, "You're gonna drop me anyway. Just get it over with."

Booth's arm shook as he held on, "You son of a bitch."

Epps looked at him, "Are you saying you don't want me dead?"

Booth tried to lift him up but couldn't as he panted out, "Yeah, I'm not you."

Epps finally smirked, "Oh, really? You're not thinking of the world with me still in it? Going after Dr. Brennan, your son…"

Booth shook his head, "I'm not you." Booth was grunting as they strained to hold onto him. Epps, scared, whimpered and gasped as Booth lost his grip and Epps fell to the pavement.

~BONES~

Booth, Brennan and an agent were sitting at the dining room table as he told Booth, "Unit on the ground saw what happened. So did the sniper across the street. You tried to save him."

Booth took a drink of the alcohol in his cup. "Yep."

Brennan knew how much it was getting to him. She reached out and squeezed his arm, "No one could've helped him."

Booth nodded, "Yeah."

The agent sighed as he told him, "You can take off now, Booth. Department might want to assign you a shrink, on the job death like that."

Brennan told him softly after the agent left, "You didn't have your full strength. Your wrist was hurt from pulling Zach away from the explosion."

Booth shook his head, "My wrist wasn't hurt, Bones."

Brennan scoffed at that a little. Booth needed to see logic. She sighed, "I wish you'd let me shoot him."

Booth looked at her through glassy eyes, "No, you don't." He got up and walked out of the apartment punching the on the way out.

Brennan looked at the door in shock. But no more than five seconds passed and he came back in, slammed to door shut, and walked right up to her. He lifted her up and brought her into a searing kiss. After breaking away for air he whispered hoarsely, "Don't ever do that again, Bones. Don't you dare make me feel like that again. If I had been too late, you…you could be dead."

Brennan wrapped her arms around his neck and whispered before she kissed him, "But I'm not and you weren't." She didn't care right then, if she knew she could have taken care of herself. Booth needed this. She led him to their bedroom and had frenzied sex. They both gave and took. Showing each other how much they needed one another. And how close they came to losing everything.

~BONES~

Booth was bending over Parker in front of the merry-go-round as he tried to coax his son, "Come on, Parker. I'll put you up there."

Parker shook his head, "No, Daddy. I don't wanna get on."

Booth picked Parker up and put him on the horse gently. "Up. Up. There you go. Alright?" Strapping him in to the ride, Booth kissed Parker on top of his head. "Knuckles." Booth and Parker banged knuckles together. Booth walked away as the ride started and walked over to Brennan on the bench.

He sighed as she asked him softly, "How's Parker?"

Booth grabbed Brennan's hand and whispered, "Yeah, I'm afraid I freaked him out the other day. He's really scared of this place. Now I gotta put that right."

Brennan rested her head on his shoulder. "He'll be fine, Booth." After a few moments of silence she said, "Cam gets released from the hospital today?"

Booth nodded, "Yeah."

Brennan heard a tone in his voice and asked, "What?"

Booth sighed, "You know, what happened to Cam happened because…we have a personal relationship." Brennan nodded and waited for him to continue, "People who work in…high-risk situations they can't be involved romantically because it leads to things like what happened. But when it does, that's makes it even more dangerous. Every single day it's with us. There's this line, and we can't cross it. People can't know what can hurt us the most. You know what I'm saying?

Brennan looked down at their intertwined fingers and nodded, "Yes. I understand." She took a deep breath in as Parker waved from the merry-go-round. She smiled softly at him, "He seems okay now."

Booth nodded, "Yeah, you know, it's important to make things right." He kissed her head as he whispered, "I just don't know how. I don't know how."

Brennan looked up at him and whispered, "We'll figure it out. Together. You're not alone in this Booth."

He smiled at her and kissed her softly on her lips. He didn't know what he would do without that woman.

* * *

 **A/N: So…I guess I could find a spot. Meh! Review?**


	13. Chapter 13

**Disclaimer - I don't own bones**

* * *

 **Chapter 13 – A Girl in the Gator**

Brennan and Booth were leaving the Royal Diner after having their usual lunch date together. They didn't have a case going on right then, but Brennan knew something was bothering Booth. He just wouldn't talk to her about it, no matter how she tried. It was very annoying. She hoped a case would come to them soon, perhaps which would distract him. And that's when his cell phone rang. He held the door open for Bones – ever the gentleman – and answered his phone. He listened as he was told where they needed to be, "Florida? Today?"

Brennan walked under his arm that held the door open for her as she asked, "Is that work?"

Booth nodded his head, "Yeah." He held the door open for a few people entering the diner – well he couldn't just let it slam shut on someone – and asked into his phone, "Hot, fun, Miama, Florida? Or sticky, you know, swampy Florida?" He then glared at some of the customers he just held the door for and said sarcastically, "You're welcome, God!" What happened to manners?

They begin to walk down the same street as an ice cream truck turned to corner with music playing. Brennan asked hopeful, "What's going on in Florida?"

Booth held up his finger as he tried to listen to what the other agent was saying, "Wait a sec." He spoke into his phone, "What flight? Hold on a second. I can't hear you." He turned to the ice cream truck driver and yelled, "Enough with the song already, all right?"

The driver yelled back, 'I'm doing business here. Deal with it!"

Booth's shoulders tensed as he spoke into his phone as he tried to write down the number, "Hold on a second, now my pen's out of ink."

Brennan dug into her purse quickly and handed him her pen, "Here."

Booth turned to the driver and said loudly so he could hear him, "Oh, hold on. I can't hear anything."

The driver didn't care though. "The kids love the music!"

Brennan knew when Booth was to his breaking point and he was getting there fast. She tried to reason with the man, "Well, I don't see any kids."

The driver pointed to the clown head, "The music attracts them!"

Booth tried to ignore it for the last time. "Did you say the Everglades? Look, I can't hear anything because of this insane music!" Booth snapped. He turned around and shot the clown head – which held the speaker – on top of the ice cream truck. People started screaming. Brennan looked at him – mouth agape and wide eyed.

The driver got out of the truck and yelled, "You shot my clown!"

Booth turned back to his phone call and asked calmly, "Great. Flight number?"

The driver still couldn't believe it. "Hey! He shot my clown!"

Booth smiled as he didn't hear that insistent music anymore as he ended his call. "Okay, thanks!" He turned to Brennan, smiling, "Okay, we're all set!"

Brennan looked at him still in shock as well. She shook her head as she gazed at the clown head. "That was not good." Booth turned around and looked at what he did too. Damn.

~BONES~

Brennan was talking to Booth on her cell phone while driving to the crime scene, "I thought you said you'd be down on the next flight?"

Booth sighed as he leaned back in his chair at work, "Well, I haven't met with the shrink yet."

Brennan scrunched her face in displeasure. She hated psychology. "What shrink?"

Booth told her, "Well, the department psychiatrist has to sign a piece of paper saying, you know that I'm not nuts before I get my gun back. So, I got an appointment tomorrow."

Brennan sighed in aggravation. She hated working with other agents. "Great. Now I have to break in this…Agent Sully?"

Booth tried to soothe her as he said, "Wait, Sully's a great guy, okay?" He then told her playfully, "And for your information, you never broke me in."

Brennan rolled her eyes and laughed softly and then she saw Sully, "Oh, I think that's him - Okay, I'll talk to you later. Love you." When had she started ending her calls with that?

~BONES~

Dr. Gordon Wyatt was working on his barbecue outside of his house when Booth walked up to him. "Doctor Wyatt?"

Gordon turned around and smiled, "Ah, Agent Booth, is it? Yes. Gordon, Gordon Wyatt."

Booth shook his hand as he asked, "Right. You're the shrink?"

Gordon looked at him as he assumed, "Uh, shrink, yes, meaning psychiatrist."

Booth sighed in relief, "That's great, Doc. How's about you just sign my piece of paper here and I'll get back to work."

Gordon took the piece of paper, "Uh, certainly." Booth handed him a pen to make the process go by faster. He needed to get to Bones. 1. She didn't do well with other agents and 2. Well, he was calmer around her recently. Gordon however waved it off, "No, no I have a pen."

Booth slid the pen back in his pocket, "Okay."

Gordon was slyly, "Do you mind if I ask what exactly it was that you did?"

Booth nodded, "Yeah, I shot a truck."

Gordon already knew the answer, but he was searching, "Ah, full of terrorist, no doubt? Or plutonium, or fleeing felons, was it?"

Booth shook his head, "No. It was an ice cream truck."

Gordon looked at him concerned, "Do you have a good reason for firing on it?"

Booth nodded his head, "Yeah, the music… it was bothering me."

Gordon stopped his writing. "Ahhh."

Booth continued, "Yeah, there was a speaker in the clown's mouth."

Gordon nodded encouragingly, "Ohh."

Booth finished, "Yeah, I just pulled out my gun, you know and…" he imitated the gunshots, "It was gone."

Gordon nodded his head slowly as he processed what he said, "So the FBI sent you to me, because you shot a clown?"

Booth told him exasperated, "Not a real clown!"

Gordon nodded his head as he handed back the piece of paper, "I suggest you cogitate on the underlying reasons you shot that clown while I make us some tea."

Booth looked at him confused, "What? Cogitate? Tea?"

~BONES~

Gordon and Booth were drinking tea as Booth told him, "You are 'really' English."

Gordon begged to differ, "Oh, I don't know. I think I've assimilated quite well. Typical American house right down to the white picket fence, truck that's the, uh what is, the heartbeat of America. But tea, tea is uh, sacrosanct. Thank you very much."

Booth shook his head as he looked at his tea, "Me, I'm a coffee drinker. Hey listen pal…"

Gordon could tell when one was closing up so he quickly changed the topic, "You know, in an effort, to understand your culture better I've been trying to embrace this very American practice of preparing meat in the garden."

Booth looked at him like he was crazy. "Barbecue."

Gordon smiled, "Hmm… it's a delightful word, isn't it? Barbecue. I think it's from the Caribbean, bar-ra-bi-cue, which means some sort of sacred fire pit. You know the Latin for hearth is focus? Isn't that revealing? It's quite literally the focal point of every household. The hearth - the heart. Uh? Interesting."

Booth sighed. He really just wanted to get back to work. "I told the ice cream guy I was sorry, alright? I… I… even bought him a new clown head! So just sign the paper!"

Gordon could see that this was going to take longer than he first thought. Ah well, "Hmm… I must apologize. I gotta go off and get some ingredients for my mortar. Uhm, why don't we reschedule?"

Booth mocked him slightly. But he was getting pissed off now. "We can't re-sch-edule. Alright? I gotta get back to work!"

Gordon smiled, "Well in that case, why not finish off preparing this area here? Could you do that? All the specifications are on the plans. You are fit for physical labour, eh? I mean, the clown didn't return fire, did it?"

Booth could have rolled his eyes. "Oh well what if I said the plastic clown did fire back, eh?"

Gordon laughed lightly. This man was a character alright, "Brilliant. Now while I'm gone, what I want you to do is to consider what you were really aiming at, when you drew a bead on that unfortunate clown."

Booth didn't know how to take that. Was that an insult? "Hey buddy, when I aim at something… I hit it."

Gordon narrowed his eyes as he took in his words, "Precisely. Anyway, I shan't be long Agent. It's all on the plans here. I'll be back before long Agent. See you then. Do help yourself to more tea by the way."

~BONES~

Booth was working on the barbecue pit as Gordon walked up, "Ohhhh splendid! So's your father who taught you to read plans, was it?"

Booth shook his head. He was not going there. "Wrong tree doc! Dad and I were tight."

Gordon held his hands up in defense. That was an interesting response, indeed. Perhaps for another time. "No, it's just that earlier you said that you weren't used to drinking tea with men. Which suggests to me that you're usually pretty rigid with your assignment of gender roles."

Booth looked up at him confuse, "What? No, no! My partner is a woman, 'kay? A woman who needs my help."

Gordon sensed something in his tone when he said partner. "But are you currently involved with anyone?"

Booth looked down at his work. Should he tell him? "Just between us, right?" Gordon nodded slowly. Booth took in a deep breath, "I'm married."

Gordon raised his brows, intrigued. His file didn't say anything about a marriage. "And, eh, how long have you been involved with her? Or… him."

Booth looked up at him sharply, "Her! Let's get that straight, okay? Her! Married three years, but we've known each other for a little over four years."

Gordon nodded, "And who might this lovely lady be?"

Booth tensed a little. But this was therapy, sorta, and he did have patient confidentiality. "She's my partner. Bones, I mean, Dr. Temperance Brennan." He looked at him sternly though. "But you can't tell anyone."

Gordon looked at him surprised, "Oh. Complicated?"

Booth shook his head, "No, it's just that before we got married I had been working on a tough case. And I drove one of the guys underground, but he made some personal threats to me and I don't want to risk having her get hurt. So we kept it a secret." That's when Booth smiled, "Ahhh, that's it! I shot the clown because I'm worried about her getting hurt because of me! Ah, thanks doc! Now I can go back to work, and you can sign the paper!"

Gordon was very intrigued by that news, but new that was definitely not the case for the shooting. "Excellent theory, but quite wrong and you're out of time. Tomorrow, all right for you?"

~BONES~

Booth was outside Gordon's house, waiting for him to answer the door at night. Bones had talked to him about her unease with how Sully was on the job a little while Gordon was gone. He could tell that she was having a hard time adjusting to a new agent. Gordon finally opened the door, "Oh!"

Booth smiled, "Hi."

Gordon tilted his head, "Do we have a schedule?"

Booth shook his head, "Uh, listen... I really need to get back to work, so why don't you just give me one of those clown restraining orders and sign my paper."

Gordon asked, "Have you had an insight as to why you shot at that clown?"

Booth's cell phone rang then, "Yeah, you know what I have some insight. It's right here." He pointed to his cell phone, "It's my Bones calling, my partner. Right." He gave him a pointed look as he answered, "Yeah? Bones."

Brennan asked immediately, "So when are you coming back again?"

Booth knew that tone, something else had happened, "What, aren't you playing nice with Sully?"

Brennan sighed, "I'm just not sure how serious he is about his job."

Booth assured her, "Well, look, he's one of the best, all right? He just likes to keep his options open."

Brennan snorted, "I've noticed."

Booth sighed as he told her, "Listen, Bones. Sully he lost his partner about a year ago, all right. Something like that happens, you hear that clock on the inside ticking just a little bit louder. So you know what, you're in good hands." Wyatt had walked away from Booth when he answered his cell, but now he walked out of his house. Booth told her hurriedly, "Here he comes, so gotta go, gotta go, gotta go." Booth closed his cell phone as Gordon walked up to him as Booth admitted, "Alright, so maybe I am a little bit irritable."

Gordon smiled internally, finally seeing that this was getting somewhere. "Why do you think that might be?"

Booth sighed. He really didn't want to rehash all of this. "Don't they give you papers, and files, and reports?" Gordon gave him a pointed look. "All right, me and my partner caught up to this serial killer named Howard Epps, and he died."

Gordon asked the key question, "And who's fault was that, yours or your partner's?"

Booth shook his head, "No, no, he jumped over that balcony maybe cause of her." He joked, "Sometimes I think he had the right idea."

Gordon asked, "And where were you when Mr. Epps fell?"

Booth told him quietly, "Holding his arm."

Gordon shook his head. "No, that was before he fell, surely."

Booth looked up at him confused, "What?"

Gordon pointed out, "Well, Mr. Epps was dangling from your arm before he fell at which point he was no longer dangling but falling. Attached to you, he was alive, no longer attached, dead."

Booth told him defensively – something he'd been telling himself repeatedly – "I don't feel guilty about that. I mean Epps is a serial killer, tried to kill my wife and threatened my son. I was glad when he hit that pavement."

Gordon went back to what Booth said, "Do you think about suicide, often?"

Booth was thrown for a loop at that subject change. "Suicide? Me? No, no, never."

Gordon pointed out, "And yet you sometimes feel that Howard Epps had the right idea about jumping off that balcony."

Booth looked at him exasperated. Really he was going with that. "It was a joke. Okay? It was a joke."

Gordon narrowed his eyes. "Yes, you do that a lot, don't you? Makes me feel such a bully for prying. Well, we'll pick up on this next time."

~BONES~

Brennan and Sully were investigating the inside of the Monte's bus. Brennan opened the fridge to find bottles of Golden Rod. "There."

Sully shrugged his shoulders, "It's not exactly a smoking gun. Can you prove she drank it here?"

Brennan told him, "I can try."

Sully closed the fridge and looked around the bus. " Okay, you can only admit evidence that's in plain view, although on this bus that can be DNA on virtually any surface."

Brennan laughed softly, "That's an image. Keep your eyes open for a metal screw threaded thingy."

Sully looked at her confused, "A what now?"

Brennan explained, "Judy's stab wound was probably from a bolt of some kind right through here." She touched an area on his back.

Sully looked at her from behind and says, "So, just inside her scapula?"

Brennan looked at him surprised that he knew that. Booth wouldn't have known that, or at least he would have acted like that – not that she knew that of course. "Yes... most laymen refer to it as a shoulder blade."

Sully shrugged his shoulders again, "Well, I told you I went to college. I minored in kinesiology. Although, this is the first time I've used it to impress a lady."

Brennan was very impressed indeed, "What was your major?"

Sully smiled, "Art history. I also got a master certificate in sailing, a pilot's license, and I'm a certified EMT. There's more but I don't wanna brag."

Brennan's cell phone rang as she continued to look at him as she grabbed her phone to answer it. He definitely was interesting, "Hold on."

~BONES~

Booth was working on the barbecue, placing the bricks on top of another row. Gordon walked up, holding cups of coffee, "You know what, I'm in America, we're men, let's drink coffee, not tea, eh? Oh, I say, marvelous job."

Booth stood up as Gordon continued to look at the pit, "Thank you." He took a sip of the coffee and grimaced, "That's not coffee."

Gordon looked at him confused, "What is it?"

Booth shook his head as he went back to work, "I don't know what the hell it is, but it sure as hell isn't coffee, Doc."

Gordon nodded as he took in that information, "You tend to do things well, don't you? Make coffee, build barbecue machines."

Booth snorted, "It's not really a machine."

Gordon went on though, "Solve crimes, raise a son, love your woman. Whatever you aim at, you hit."

Booth looked at him, "That bad?"

Gordon knew exactly where he needed t go with this now. "By no means, no of course not, except…"

Booth sighed, "Ohh, it's okay, here we go. Let me have it, Doc."

Booth and Gordon took a seat at a patio table as Gordon told him, "Except it is indicative of a need to control your environment."

Booth still didn't get it. "Again, I ask, is that bad?"

Wyatt shook his head. "No, of course not, no! Except…"

Booth was really getting tired of this back and forth, "Except?"

Gordon told him honestly, "Except when you shoot a clown."

Booth sighed, "You know, you make it sound like it was walking making balloon animals."

Gordon told him what he observed, "For the most part, your rebellions are small."

Booth definitely didn't know what he was talking about now. "Rebellions?"

Gordon nodded his head, "The colorful socks, the funky belt buckle, there a mechanism, quiet rebellions, a way of asserting your personal control over a homogenizing organization like the FBI. But shooting a clown is not a quiet rebellion. Shooting a clown is quite literally deafening."

Booth cell phone had begun to ring and he answered it. "Booth."

Brennan smiled, "Hey, it's me."

Booth saw that Gordon was getting up and told her, "Yeah, hold on for a second." He spoke to Gordon, "Wait, why is it Doc that every time I answer the phone, you walk away?"

Gordon smiled and asked, "Why do you answer the phone knowing it'll make me walk away?"

Booth sighed as he told his wife, "Yeah, you know what Bones, I gotta call you back."

Brennan just needed to know one thing though. "Is Sully for real?"

Booth stopped what he was doing when she asked that. "What?"

Brennan sighed as she explained, "I just can't decide whether or not to take him seriously."

Booth went on alert at her words. "Well is he acting unprofessional?"

Brennan alleviated his fears, "No, he's very professional, it's just can he really do all he says he can do?"

Booth sighed in relief, "Oh you mean that whole master carpentry thing. Yeah, you know he made me that dining room set last year. Remember?"

Brennan's eyes widened, "That was him? He's a carpenter as well?"

Booth was the one confused, "As well as what?"

Brennan's cell phone beeped, alerting of a call waiting. "That's Sully calling - right now. We're doing, you know, what we did."

Booth didn't know if how to react to this. There was something in her voice. He just didn't know what. "Hey, you know, I'll be back soon."

Brennan nodded her head. "Okay, I'll talk to you later." Booth hung up and stood in front of the half finished barbecue pit. He could feel that Brennan was putting up her walls again and he didn't know why. Maybe it was that she finally saw what kind of man he was, that he could actually…

~BONES~

Brennan and Sully were overlooking Isaac through the window of the interrogation room. "There should be a sense of satisfaction after solving a case but most of the time I feel drained."

Sully sighed as he told her, "Yeah, that's why you can only do this job for so long. Murders, death, corpses, you do that your whole life, there's gotta be more, y'know?"

Brennan joked, "The sausage and pepper sandwich."

Sully smiled at her, "You got admit it was good! So what do you and Booth usually do now? Is there a bar you go to, a restaurant, pilates class?"

Brennan nodded slowly, "There's a diner. Booth says the pie is the best."

Sully asked tentatively, "Can I buy you a slice?"

Brennan looked at him and saw that she could use this as something. 1. It could be used as a cover-up for her marriage. And 2. She could see if she really had something to fear about her relationship with Booth. "Sure."

Sully smiled, "I guess, we're not working together anymore."

Brennan nodded her head, "Yes."

Sully's smile grew, "And since we have no professional obligations to each other, I can ask you out? Theoretically."

Brennan wasn't encouraging him, since she still did think it was wise to talk with Booth about this, but still. She didn't see him objecting for any reason. "Theoretically."

Sully couldn't tell if that was a good sign. "Perhaps after a twenty-four hour waiting period."

Brennan raised one eyebrow, "Why?"

Sully whispered, "So the brain can adjust to alternate perceptions of each other."

Brennan shrugged her shoulders as she put her plan into motion, "I actually don't need it. My brain adjusts quite quickly." She then walked out, with Sully following her.

~BONES~

Booth was finishing up the barbecue as Gordon walked out. "Oh my good lord."

Booth lit the barbecue up and smiled, "That's right."

Gordon asked, "How many bricks did you use in the end?"

Booth nodded his head approvingly at his work, "Yep you know, one hundred and eighty. Right so you can go sign away." He handed Gordon the paper for him to sign.

Gordon sat down at the patio table and pointed to some meat, "What are those?"

Booth rubbed his hands together, excitedly, "Oh those are two beautiful prime rib-eye steaks. Being the barbecue master that I am, I thought I'd show you how to barbecue, Doc."

Gordon told him, "Oh but I don't want to be shown, I want to learn trial and error."

Booth shook his head, "No, no no.. Doc, listen it's better to learn off hamburgers, or sausages. You know those puppies cost fifty bucks a pop."

Gordon nodded his head. He thought it was best to get to it now. Having given the agent enough time to marinate what said earlier. "You know, according to the FBI reports there was no way you could save Epps' life. Your partner's report says the same thing. An FBI sniper from the opposite roof saw everything through his scope. According to all witnesses you have nothing to feel guilty about."

Booth tensed at the mention of that. He just wanted to enjoy his steaks. "Yeah, so?"

Gordon asked pryingly, "So, why, in a fit of pique did you endanger innocent people in a public thoroughfare by discharging your firearm?"

Booth closed the barbecue cover and told him seriously, "I'm a good shot. I didn't put anybody in danger."

Gordon saw that that route wasn't going to get anywhere, so he went with the straight-forward approach. "Your file shows you're a military sniper. How many people have you killed?"

Booth shrugged, "Lost count."

Gordon knew that was a lie. "Oh, you can remember a hundred and eighty bricks, but not how many lives you've taken?"

Booth sighed and murmured, "Epps makes fifty."

Gordon looked at him as he stood next to him now, "Fifty what?"

Booth told him coolly, "Fifty kills."

Gordon tried to really get to the point though, "But Agent Booth you didn't kill Epps. You tried to save him, remember? Or perhaps I better put it as a question, did Howard Epps slip from your grasp or did you release him? Oh come now man, it's a simple enough question. Was he indeed your fiftieth kill or did you just happen to be there when he died?"

Booth didn't know. He really didn't. He knew what type of monster he could be. When it came down to it, when the ones he loved or the things he cherished were threatened, he kill for them. But did he really do that, that time? "I don't know."

Gordon whispered, "A man like you in control of every situation and you don't know?"

Booth shook his head, "I don't know. I had him, and then I lost him, and then something happened in between. I don't know."

Gordon nodded his head. And that was the main issue. "I believe you, because for a man like you to admit that you don't know, to relinquish control. That could indeed argue a disruption in your self-view that was large enough to motivate you to shoot a clown. You know, I think we've made marvelous progress. This is a close where we can certainly begin." Gordon had sat down again and was about to sign the paper when he looked up at Booth again, "You know what, I've changed my mind. I would love you to cook those steaks." Gordon bent down and signed the release paper and handed it to Booth.

Booth took the papers, still in a state of shock as he mumbled, "I can do that."

Gordon knew that this man had many guilts that needed to be worked with, but he also knew that all would end well. "Medium-rare please, Mr. G-man."

Booth took in deep breath. He hadn't really realized – well if he were honest with himself he hadn't admitted – that that was what had been bothering him. That was what had been making him draw into himself. Now Bones was feeling it and maybe she too was bringing up her old walls. He needed to fix what he made wrong. "I can do that."

* * *

 **A/N: So there you have it. Now two more people know. Let's go over to see who does now. There's: Dr. Goodman, Caroline, Russ, Hodgins, Vega (which doesn't really count =P), and Gordon Gordon. I don't believe anyone else is going to find out about them in this season, but you never know! And can you tell how the angst is coming. I'm building people. With small little blocks!**

 **Ok, now um... I posting on Saturday because I have internet for 48 hours so tomorrow I'm posting. (P.S. I used to post on Saturday's on Pt 1 of this book but stop when I didn't go to school on Saturday's) I'll Saturday posting soon.**

 **Again reviews are loved and scrap-booked!**


	14. Chapter 14

**Disclaimer - I don't own bones =(**

* * *

 **Chapter 14 – The Man in the Mansion**

Booth and Brennan arrived at the crime scene and exited Booth's SUV when Brennan asked, "Do you have therapy today?"

Booth shot her a glare and told her sternly, "It's not therapy."

Brennan shrugged her shoulders and tried to conceal her smile. She knew that he hated it when she said things like that about his sessions with Gordon Gordon. It was quite amusing. "Well, you're seeing a psychiatrist."

Booth sighed in aggravation, "Not for therapy. It's an official evaluation. Okay?"

An officer walked up to the bickering partners. They always were like that, like an old married couple. "Person who found the body is in the living room."

Booth was happy for the distraction from the officer. "Great, crime scene first, then we talk to the witnesses."

The officer nodded his head toward the house, "Corpse is gonna be in the den."

Booth said, "Thanks."

Brennan then noticed for the first time that morning his tie. She didn't even know he had a plain black tie. It was so weird seeing him in it. "What is that?"

Booth looked down at where she motioned, "What's what?"

Brennan shook her head in disbelief, "Your tie. It's staid."

Booth furrowed his brow and looked at his tie again, "Staid?"

Brennan nodded as she explained, "Yeah. Boring. It looks like J. Edgar Hoover picked it out."

Booth dragged his hand down his face in frustration, "Look, it's something I'm working on, okay?"

Brennan teased, "In therapy?"

Booth didn't that bait and told her, "Gordon Gordon says that the … you know, the wild socks and the fancy ties are all just, ya know, quiet rebellions, helping me suppress other impulses."

Brennan definitely didn't understand that soft science and she definitely would never put stock into it. No matter what. "Isn't that good?"

Booth nodded his head in agreement, "You'd think so, right? But, you know, apparently all the other issues just have to rise to the top."

Brennan had been wondering something since he started seeing his therapist. I mean he knew about everything. And she meant everything. From their secret marriage to why they had to keep it a secret. "Why do you call your psychiatrist 'Gordon Gordon'?"

Booth shrugged his shoulders, "'Cause that's who he introduces himself. You know: 'Hi, I'm Gordon. Gordon Wyatt'."

Brennan smiled at him as she tried to remember that pop-culture reference. "Like 'James, James Bond'."

Booth smiled softly at her attempt. "'Bond, James Bond', not 'James, James … James…' whatever." He didn't have time to correct her as they entered the crime scene at the Bancroft Mansion.

Cam shouted, "We're over here. And you might want to tuck your pants into your socks. The flies get into everywhere." Booth gave another exasperated sigh, and pulled up his pant leg, revealing solid black socks. Cam couldn't help but joke, "What, no cartoon characters on the socks?"

Booth glared at her as he finished, "Never had cartoon characters on the socks. They were just … um … never mind, okay? What have we got here?" He already knew that he would hate this case. That statue was probably more than his whole house and everything he owned. Man he hated rich people.

~BONES~

Sully and Brennan were talking in her office. He had just invited her to watch him play basketball with his team. She knew Booth was…okay-ish with her fake relationship with Sully. She found that her little experiment hadn't been going as she planned. She knew, rationally, she should be attracted to Sully. He was everything that someone looked for in a mate. Yet, she just didn't feel anything there. Maybe she needed to work harder…but even she knew that if her body hadn't reacted to him yet than it probably never would. She just didn't want to admit it, yet. She needed more evidence. "Would I get to play?"

Sully laughed softly, "Uh, no. You will be cheering, then watching."

Brennan remembered when she and Booth had played a little one on one on one of their dates in the beginning months of their relationship. She had enjoyed it very much, considering that Booth's sweaty, shirtless body was so very close to her at the time. "What fun is that?"

Sully joked, "I am a mad 'sagger'. I … I … I wear my shorts very, very low."

Brennan still didn't get the relevance to how low he wore his shorts was. "Okay."

Sully laughed as he tried to think of something that she could understand, "You suck hugely at being a girl." Brennan didn't like to be treated like a girl, Booth knew that. Crap, why did keep comparing Sully to Booth! Sully tried to cover up from the look she was giving him, "Okay, okay … anthropology … anthropology. Oh, okay … think of it as a social ritual in which I impress you with my manly prowess during a game of basketball."

Brennan was taken aback by that. "You want to impress me?"

Sully smiled slightly, "I'm traditional that way."

Brennan shook her head as she chuckled, "Why don't you just bonk me on the head with a giant club?"

Sully was happy that she didn't have that look on her face anymore. He did something right, "Well, I'd much prefer you came to the game and ogled my butt crack. You know, it's law enforcement versus public defenders. Guys with ponytails and love handles. We're heavily favored. So?"

Brennan grinned as she thought of a great way to make Angela think something was definitely going on. She had been asking, afterall.

~BONES~

Angela and Brennan were seated at her computer in Angela's office as she exclaimed, "What is not to like? Go watch Sully play basketball. "

Brennan tried to play the part. "But – he still hasn't made a move on me. "

Angela sighed as she thought about that. "How many times have you gone out?"

Brennan thought back to the past few weeks, "Four … or six. Depending on how you define 'go out'."

Angela snorted, "Right. Bumping into each other at the diner does not count as going out."

Brennan nodded her head. "Four." She then pointed to the computer screen, "There. Along the interior cervical vertebrae. Is that shadow a glitch? "

Angela shook her head, "I don't do glitches. Four, huh? So the question is … is Sully damaged goods, or is he just very respectful?"

Brennan looked at her shocked, thinking back to how slow she and Booth took things. "What? Those are my choices?"

Angela gave her a look and nodded her head, "Damaged goods, you run away; very respectful, you hang in."

Brennan sighed as she (again!) thought back to how she was the one to really start something. "I should just make the first move."

Angela nearly shouted, "No, Brennan! For once can you just pretend that you're the girl?"

When Brennan made the first move on Booth, he didn't seem to mind at all. And again she wasn't a girl! "Why is everyone so anxious for me to be a girl?"

Angela sighed and shook her head. "Listen. Go to the basketball game. Let him show off for you, and see what happens."

Brennan didn't like that idea one bit. She wasn't like that by nature. "I don't know. It sounds so…passive."

Angela patted her hand, "Now you've got it."

~BONES~

Booth was at his desk and Sully was sitting in front of him. Booth couldn't believe what he was hearing. This was why (well one of the reasons why) he didn't like the idea of Sully being Bones' 'boyfriend'. "You just don't get it."

Sully had no idea why Booth wouldn't help him. "What! I'm asking for guy advice, you are a guy – what's not to get?"

Booth shook his head, "First of all, guys, they don't ask for advice. And secondly, I'm not going to help you get my…partner into bed."

Sully looked at him in disbelief, "Why not? It's not like you want her." Booth's lips twitched slightly trying to hold back the response he wanted to give, but he didn't say a word. Sully however saw that twitch and his eyes widened, "Unless … Do you want her?"

Booth tried to play it cool at his little slip. "Nah. Come on, Bones is, you know, my partner."

Sully barked out a laugh, "That is why you need psychiatric treatment, because you have the hots for your partner!"

Booth pointed a finger at him, upset with that word. "I'm not in psychiatric treatment, okay? It's an evaluation. Big difference."

Sully waved that off, and decided that he didn't really care if Booth wanted Brennan. He had her and that was that. "I can tell that Brennan is the go slow type, but you gotta help me out on how slow, because too slow is worse than not slow enough."

Agent Charlie appeared at the doorway. "Agent Booth."

Booth was happy for the little interruption because he was ready to rip Sully's manhood out. "Yeah?"

Charlie told him, "District cops got a kid matching your APB … down at the morgue." Booth got up from his desk, and Sully was left on his own, with Booth glaring daggers to the back of his head.

~BONES~

Brennan was watching the game from the stands, clearly bored with just watching, but she tried to look interested in watching Sully. He was, a decent player, but Booth was better. She sighed in frustration. Sully's teammates were calling to him on the court, using the nickname "Peanut". Two women were seated in front of her in the stands, discussing the game. "Sully's looking good."

The other woman nodded, "Hot!"

The first woman smiled, "You know, Scotty says Sully won't shower with the other guys."

The second woman's eyebrows rose as she whispered, "That guy's got some kind of an issue."

The first woman laughed softly as she told her, "Guys only got one kind of an issue, girl."

The second woman smiled widely as she said, "Then I guess we know why they call him Peanut." The women giggled as Sully spotted Brennan in the stands and waved to her. She waved back, and the two women saw her and uncomfortably shared a glance. Brennan knew that what the women were saying was false, from Booth's nickname, but yet again that didn't appeal to her at all. What was wrong with her!

~BONES~

Dr. Gordon Wyatt and Booth were walking down the street towards the diner as Gordon Gordon told Booth, "In point of fact, it is therapy."

Booth looked at him in surprise, "What? No, no, it's not. It's an evaluation."

Gordon Gordon shook his head, "No, I've already certified you as fit to carry a gun and go back to work."

Booth didn't get it then. "Okay, then why are we meeting?"

Gordon Gordon told him honestly, "Well, because you discharged your weapon at an ice cream truck. My provisional certification of your mental health only holds as long as you continue to meet with me."

Booth sighed as they enter the diner. "Great. For how long?"

Gordon Gordon shrugged his shoulders. So much was involved with Booth's final breaking point and a major factor had to do with a lovely lady as well. "'Til I'm satisfied you won't start firing at confectioners again. What's your objection to therapy?"

Booth shrugged, "You know what, doc? I am not the kind of guy who's got anything to hide."

Gordon Gordon told him with laughter in his voice, "You know, I often find that when people declare what they are not, it almost invariably turns out that that's precisely what they are."

Booth walked to a table as he declared, "Great. Then, you know what? No more declarations from me."

They both sat down as Gordon Gordon chuckled, "You do know that what you just said is, in fact, the very avatar of a declaration."

Booth rubbed his forehead, "Avatar, that's great." He motioned to a waiter, "Can I get a cup of coffee, and a, uh…"

Gordon Gordon made a "T" sign with his fingers, "Tea, please."

Booth shook his head amused at the docs ways, "Tea, yeah. Let me ask you a question, doc. Why is that every time you introduce yourself, you always say your name twice, huh? 'Hello, my name is Gordon, Gordon Wyatt.'"

Gordon Gordon told him, "Well, now you're simply lashing out, aren't you? Why don't we talk about the case you're working on at the moment?"

Booth looked at him with narrowed eyes, "Why?"

Gordon Gordon gestured toward himself, "Well, I am trained as a forensic psychiatrist. I might be able to help."

Booth sighed as he knew that he could be of some assistance, "Okay. Fine. Great. I have a dead rich guy, works with at-risk youth, gets brutally murdered after confiscating a couple of pounds of heroin from one of his kids."

Gordon Gordon nodded his head slowly, "It's interesting the first word you use to describe him is 'rich'."

Booth pointed out, "Ah, second. First description was 'dead'."

Gordon Gordon asked probingly, "Why do you think you have a problem with wealthy people?"

Booth sighed again. "This case is a perfect example. This guy, he makes up his own rules. What's that word that you used?"

Gordon Gordon supplied, "Uh, entitled."

Booth nodded, "Yeah, entitled. That's what got him killed."

Gordon Gordon asked, "Did this rich guy, by any chance, have a wife?"

Booth was thrown from the topic change, "Ah what, are we changing the subject now?"

Gordon Gordon inquired, "And does the rich guy's wife have a lover?"

Booth looked at him a little annoyed, "I just told you. The murder has to do with the heroin. The boy, the victim took the heroin from also turned up murdered."

Gordon Gordon nodded his head as if he was thinking of something, "And is this boy from a modest background?"

Booth took a sip of his coffee. "Doesn't get any modester."

Gordon Gordon narrowed his eyes at that response. "So is there any chance that you would rather catch the boy's murderer, than the wealthy fellow's murderer, so you have decided that they're one in the same? Any chance that you've based this assumption purely on your bias against rich, entitled people?"

Booth couldn't take it anymore. He gripped his cup, "Mmm-hmm. You know what? I did the belt buckle, I did the tie, I did the socks … what else do you want from me?"

Gordon Gordon again changed the topic. "What would you say if I told you that my name actually is Gordon Gordon Wyatt. That my first and middle names are the same?" Booth had no clue what the hell that meant.

~BONES~

The game was just wrapping up, and the men were coming off the court to meet their friends and family. Sully came over to meet Brennan. "So are you ready to go?"

Brennan looked at him in surprise, "Don't you want to take a shower?"

Sully shrugged that off, "Ah, I don't sweat that much."

Brennan asked through narrowed eyes. "Won't you be uncomfortable at the restaurant?"

Sully shrugged, "It's a scuzzy bar. I'll be one of the best-smelling things there – next to you, of course."

Brennan sighed as she tried to play the girlfriend part, "You played very well."

Sully smiled, happy to see that he had impressed her, "Thank you."

Brennan pointed out, "In fact, you were the best."

Sully definitely was smiling widely at her. "See, that's why I wanted you to come, you know, to be impressed."

Brennan told him what he should anthropologically, "Well, it was an impressive display of manhood."

Sully laughed softly, "Well, thank you."

Brennan went on, "Athletics as an analog for battle. In fact, you were a warrior tonight."

Sully laughed again, "Wow. You really were impressed."

Brennan tried to see if her hypothesis about him as right or if the other agents only called Booth that for fun. "There are quite a number of ways that men judge their relative maleness with respect to other men."

Sully nodded slowly, not really getting where she was going with that. "Uh-huh."

Brennan continued, "Muscles, income, cars, attractive mates, tolerance to alcohol, hair loss … and of course, the size of sexual organs."

Sully's eyes widened at that, "Whoa! Save something for us to discuss at dinner."

Brennan shrugged, "Well … women don't care about that."

Sully looked at her confused, "Dinner, or … hair loss."

Brennan said bluntly, "The size of the sexual organ."

Sully looked at her with narrowed eyes. Where was she going with this? "Ours or yours?"

Brennan stated, "Penis size only matters to other males."

Sully joked, "See, I was hoping you'd comment on how I shut down the other team's offense."

Brennan shrugged her shoulders and told him honestly – which was why she could say Booth was better than him, "Well, their offense wasn't really all that good."

Sully faked hurt, "Oh, you know how to hurt a guy. It's not a bad thing, I like it. A little sauce, a little zing…"

~BONES~

Hodgins and Booth were standing together at his work station as he explained to Booth what he found, "The flake on the trachea was India ink. It came from this. It's a Scrimshawed letter opener, wiped clean, but there are still minute traces of Terrance Bancroft's blood in the etchings."

Booth nodded as he thought about what Gordon Gordon said. "I need to pull a little con on the wife."

Hodgins looked at him surprised. Booth never openly talked to him before about his marriage to Dr. Brennan. She had told Hodgins vaguely why they needed to keep their marriage a secret and how they had planned little 'flings' to make everyone think that they weren't together. He had been silent about it ever since then. So why was he mentioning something now. "Your wife?"

Booth gave him a pointed look that told him that he was crazy. "No, the victim's wife."

Hodgins hadn't be expecting that. He stuttered out, "Why?"

Booth narrowed his eyes as he started to feel out what he was thinking. "Find out if she was cheating on her husband."

Hodgins tried to get out of this conversation. "I thought the murder was because of the heroin."

Booth shrugged his shoulders, "Well, it is. But you know, I need you to come along and, you know, collect some dust, or pollen, or seeds, or whatever the hell it is you do, so I can get in and figure out if she's got anything to hide."

Hodgins asked, timidly, "How will you do that?"

Booth nodded his head slowly as he saw him fidget, "Oh, I've got my ways. Come on."

Hodgins tried to get out of it, "Well, you know, I'm really busy here. You know, the murder weapon … plus, we found a fiber in the victim's throat. It's actually muskrat..."

Booth smiled as he said, "Muskrat, hey, that's a perfect cover. We'll go the mansion, you go inside and look for anything made out of muskrat. Come on. Why are you draggin' your feet? Let's go."

Hodgins nodded his head, "I'll … I'll get my kit."

Booth nodded as he knew that he was right. "Get your kit."

~BONES~

Angela and Brennan were walking together down the street to the diner as Angela said, "Wait. You still haven't slept together?"

Brennan had deduced that perhaps her prior theory had been wrong and it really did only apply to Booth. "I know the problem."

Angela joked, "His religious upbringing?"

Brennan laughed and shook her head, "His penis."

Angela laughed at that, "What's wrong with it."

Brennan smiled slightly, "Apparently it's small."

Angela couldn't help but chuckle at that. "Well, that maybe explains why he hasn't made any moves on you yet. He's insecure."

Brennan tried to make sure Ange thought she was really worried about her and Sully, "So I should make the first move, right?"

Angela smiled and nodded as they entered the diner. "Yeah. Take Sully for a little test drive. Maybe he's got unlimited mileage. That'll make up for the fact that he's a sub-compact."

~BONES~

Brennan, Hodgins, Zach, Cam, Angela, and Booth were standing and sitting around tables, and Brennan was watching Caroline talk to Barron in the distance. "I don't understand how they could do that."

Zach looked at his mentor confused, "Who?"

Brennan gestured to them, "Lawyers."

Angela furrowed her brow, "Do what?"

Brennan shrugged as she tried to think of the right words, "Be all friendly."

Cam joked, "The only people lawyers like are other lawyers."

Booth had known Caroline since his start in the FBI and he considered her a very close friend. And friends knew things about each other. "Well, they were married…" Everybody turned to look at him in shock, "Well, they have a daughter, second year at MIT."

Hodgins couldn't help but snort, "Does anyone else see the irony here?"

Caroline approached the table and told them sternly, "Listen up you people. The verdict is gonna come down any minute. Maybe we'll win, maybe we'll lose. But this I do know. You people have got to get your sand together, do you hear me? Booth, and you scientist android brainiacs - you got something very special here, but you are losing it." She looked at Booth, "Dropping serial killers off balconies, and, " looking at Angela, "blabbing suspects names to vengeful fathers." She turned to Cam, "Cuttin' into heads before their times, getting' poisoned," looking at Zach, "getting' blown up because you go grabbing for things you shouldn't ought." She looked at Hodgins, "Taking photographs from frames." She then sternly looked at Booth again, "Gettin' a perfectly good car smashed to bits for no good reason. Get it together! Start using your oversized heads. This is the real world. Now, I know bug man here handed in his resignation. My official Justice Department recommendation is the following: We win the case, he gets his job back. We lose, Booth shoots him. "

The bailiff approached the group, "The jury's returned with a verdict."

Caroline nodded, "Okay, let's go face the music."

~BONES~

Booth was with Gordon Gordon sharing some of his favorite ties, when Brennan walked into the diner. She smiled as he showed him his very first outrageous tie. With the lady on the back. She walked over to them and saw the surprised look cross Booth's face. "Hey Bones, what are you doing here? I thought you were going to go to Sully's game."

She slid into the chair between him and the window and smiled warmly at him. She shrugged her shoulders as she told him, "I find that you are much more interesting than Sully's game. Plus it's no fun to watch."

Booth smiled widely at her as she leaned in and kissed him softly on the lips. Gordon Gordon cleared his throat, seeing that he had been forgotten already. He liked what he saw, although he could tell that something was amiss. He just didn't know what. "You must be Agent Booth's partner, Dr. Temperance Brennan."

Brennan smiled at him, "Yes, I am. It's a pleasure to meet you Dr. Wyatt. Although I must tell you, I put no stock in psychology."

Booth hissed, "Bones!"

However, Gordon Gordon could now see personally how much these two complemented each other. He laughed heartily at her remark, "Ah, Dr. Brennan you are a fresh of clean air. Agent Booth was just showing me some of his favorite ties. He especially liked that one…" He pointed to the one that she saw when she walked in.

Brennan laughed lightly at it close up and said, "I remember when you got that one." The rest of the 'session' went on with just them talking. No analyzing, no probing questions. Just the three of them conversing.

They said their goodbyes as they headed toward their cars. Brennan had taken a cab to the diner, knowing that Booth had his SUV. They drove home in comfortable silence, a thing one only gains after years of being together. They were headed upstairs in the elevator when Brennan asked, "Is it true about how they gave you your nickname?"

Booth looked at her surprised at her bringing it up. They hadn't talked about what nickname his colleagues gave him in such a long time. She had only asked one time when she came to one of his hockey games when they were dating and she heard them call out his nickname and she hadn't heard that before, "What do you mean?"

Brennan shrugged her shoulders as the doors slid open and they stepped out. "Well, your nickname is comical. They called you Lamb because you are anything but gentle and docile. You are the very opposite, in every respect." She looked at him saucily at her last remark. "Is that the case for everyone?"

Booth chuckled slightly at the glint in her eyes. "Yeah, pretty much. I don't even know how they came up with that nickname."

Brennan laughed deeply and whispered huskily as he unlocked their door, "I think they started calling you that after they heard us in the locker room that one day during your practice. We were rather vocal, especially since I was so turned on by how aggressive you were on the ice. I think it should itself then." She walked passed his stunned body. He really hadn't known about that.

Booth groaned loudly as he remembered that day. He hadn't meant to be so aggressive, but fuck she looked damn edible in her outfit and he couldn't help it. She had scratch this shit out of his back – which he got ribbed for later after practice – and he had left his own marks on her, which lasted a little more than a week. Damn, he was getting hard just thinking about that.

Brennan had already walked through their opened door, when he saw how she was really looking at him with those damn fuck-me-pumps on, he lost his mind. He slammed their door shut and stalked over to her, in a predatory manner. He told her huskily, "I'll show you how aggressive I can be, babe." He then brought her against the closest wall and hiked up her skirt, tearing her panties in the process, as he savagely kissed her lips.

She quickly ridded of him his belt buckle, pants, and boxers as he sucked on her pulse point. She wrapped her legs around him tightly as he slid into her in one fluid, hard movement. They both groaned loudly as he whispered, "Fuck, you're so wet Bones."

She nibbled on his earlobe, "It's all for you Booth." And that's how the rest of their day went, each proving how aggressive they could be.

~BONES~

Brennan and Sully walked into the lab and shared a glance. They had just come from breakfast together, which Brennan had promised him since she hadn't gone to his basketball game. Even though in the morning she had been reluctant to leave Booth's arms. Her experiment was not going the way she first thought it would. Damn.

Angela, who stood nearby, watched the two exchange glances. She mistook Sully's glance of longing as one of longing for more, while she took in Brennan's flushed, happy face as one that said she had an amazing night with Sully. She smiled widely as Brennan walked over to her, "You look happy."

Brennan couldn't help but smile, "Uh-huh." She was not going to lie about how happy she was.

Angela's smile widened, "Oh, you look really happy. You made the first move."

Brennan now realized what Angela thought and she played along with it. "Well you told me I should!"

Angela bit her lip, "How was it? I mean, I don't mean 'it' … no, no … I do! I mean 'it'."

Brennan told her what she found out from Booth, "I discovered something very interesting about cops and nicknames."

Angela smiled, "Anthropologically interesting?"

Brennan went with Sully's nickname, "Anatomically interesting. They call the bald guy 'Curly', and the fat guy 'Tiny'. It's ironic."

Angela was definitely smiling, "So when they call Sully 'Peanut'…"

Brennan went out on a branch and told her, "He doesn't like to shower with the other guys because he diverges from the quantifiable morphological norm."

Brennan and Angela reached Brennan's office, where Booth was waiting in a chair, his feet up on Brennan's desk. "What? What's that mean?"

Brennan smiled as she thought about Booth, "Stands out from a crowd."

Angela looked at Booth like he was eye-candy. She couldn't help but ask, "Do you have a nickname, Booth? Something the other cops call you?"

Booth narrowed his eyes as he looked between her and Bones. "Why? What have you heard?"

Angela shook her head, "Congrats, Brennan."

Brennan watched her leave and then looked back at Booth. She zeroed in on his socks, "Wow. Those socks. Those are...amazing."

Booth smiled widely, "That's right. The socks, the tie, the belt buckle - all escape valves for my socioeconomic rage."

Brennan rolled her eyes at that. "I hate psychology."

Booth shrugged as he leaned forward, "Oh, you know, they help me deal with the day-to-day irritations of dealing with people that are more privileged."

Brennan nodded her head as she sat down. "Angela thinks I slept with Sully last night."

Booth looked at her surprised, "Oh. I thought she already, uh …"

Brennan shook her head, "No. Last night."

Booth tried to shrug it off. "Ah. It's really none of my business."

Brennan looked at him confused, "Except we're married."

Booth nodded, seeing that she did have a point. But he really didn't want to think of her with Sully. "Yeah, there's that…"

Brennan tried to take away the awkwardness with a joke, "And you...told me about your socks."

Booth smiled at her attempt, "Mhm. Sex. Socks. Pretty much the same word."

Brennan walked over the lean against her desk in front of him as she asked, "Do we have a case, or are you just visiting for a second go-around today?"

Booth felt himself start to get hard as he thought about last night and that morning, "Yeah, I'll fill you in on the way." He joked huskily, "It's messy, better get some protection."

Brennan leaned forward and whispered, "Let me get my gumboots."

Brennan left the office with a sway to her hips and Booth stood up, looked at his watch and began fidgeting with his tie. "Yeah. I'm gonna need a flashier tie."

* * *

 **A/N: I thought the nickname was okay. How about you? See, it's not too angsty. Juts angsty enough =P**

 ** _(If you think that I was actually going to let Brennan be unfaithful to her husband then you don't know Brennan at all. Brennan loves Booth no matter what)_ #B&B on Twitter and Instagram**


	15. Chapter 15

**Disclaimer - I don't own bones (I'm going to miss but I'm going continue writing)**

* * *

 **Chapter 15 – The Bodies in the Book**

Booth had been very pleased when he woke up that morning to find his wife slowly and oh so exquisitely sucking his hard-on. He was never one to protest morning sex, but it usually started with them just kissing. He could count on both his hands the amount of times he'd been woken up like that. But man, what a great way to wake up. However, Booth was never one to get off before Bones did and even though she was doing everything and anything to make his mind go blank – and she was almost succeeding with him wrapping his fingers in her long, soft hair and moaned loudly – he still had enough of his wits (which was slipping quickly) to slowly drag her up his body. She gave a whimper of disapproval, but that soon turned into a deep moan and he kissed her solidly and slid two of his fingers without warning into her core. And so their morning started, they were just starting to get really into it – with Brennan on top fisting him in her hand while Booth continued to pump his fingers and gently brush against her bundle of sensitive nerves – when her damn phone rang. Booth could tell by her slowing kisses that she was thinking about answering it. He mumbled huskily, "No, no, no, no, no. Don't answer it."

Brennan gasped slightly as Booth pulled out the semi-big guns and curled his fingers, knowing that he was hitting her g-spot, and she told him breathlessly, "Oh, it's probably the publicist for my book."

Booth pulled her toward him as he kissed his way down her shoulder, "Shh. Pretend it's the ocean." He was ready to laugh in joy as the phone stopped ringing, "See that? God loves us."

Brennan laughed huskily at that and surprised him, by sliding down fully onto his arousal. Which in turn caused Booth to grip her hips firmly and hoarsely say, "Fuck, Bones."

Brennan smiled seductively at him as she started a slow and steady pace, leaning down and kissing him passionately. And then that goddamn phone rang again. She tore her mouth off of him, still rocking gently as she said, "Ugh. She'll only keep calling."

Booth's hand slid up her back as he started to meet her with slight thrusts, "You hate publicity, babe."

Brennan glared at the phone, like she wanted to shoot it, "Well, it's part of my contract. The book's getting a lot of attention. I'm just trying to do my job." She said the last part with a moan as Booth gently started to kiss her breasts. She leaned down slightly and reached for the phone begrudgingly, "Hello? Hi Ellen."

Booth nuzzled his nose between her breasts and nipped slightly at the swell of them as he said, "Of course, you did look hot on The View. I think Rosie had a little thing for you."

Brennan covered his mouth while he rolled her over and started trying to distract her by kissing her again and increasing his thrusts into her. She spoke breathlessly into the phone, "That seems – that seems like a lot. Well, it's two interviews and a book signing in one day. I – I don't – I don't know about Tuesday." She took the phone away from her ear and moaned loudly – as Booth caught it with another kiss – when she felt him gently press two fingers against her nerves. She brought the phone back to her ear and said hurriedly, "Just, um, send the schedule to the Jeffersonian. We'll discuss it then, okay? I'll see you. I'm leaving right now." She hung up and kissed Booth soundly as she wrapped her legs around him and rolled them over so she was on top again. "You are so going to pay for that Booth."

Booth smiled cockily at her and said right before he kissed her, "I plan on it."

~BONES~

Hodgins was with Brennan's publicist and her assistant, Ellen Laskow and Hank Beldin and a bug was pinned to the table on its back and cut open as Brennan came up to them as Hodgins explained to them what it was, "Sorry I'm late."

Ellen breathed a sigh of relief, "Oh, thank God. Hank. You know, dear, your book is on the best sellers list. You don't have to work in this place anymore."

Brennan looked at her as if she were an alien, "This is my real love, Ellen."

Ellen told her, "I know a therapist, dear, who could really help you." Brennan gave her a look of displeasure, "Okay. Um, the reading and the book signing are this Wednesday night. Hank has arranged for transportation."

Hank jumped in, "Yes. A car will pick you up here at the lab, Dr. Brennan."

Ellen said, "And then there's that radio interview next Tuesday. That's an early one, so just tell Hank what you would like for breakfast."

Brennan never did like to flaunt her money or use it for such meaningless things. She could easily make her own breakfast or Booth would happily make it for her, since he was more of the morning person. "Um, that's not necessary."

Ellen waved that off, "Oh honey, don't worry about it. That's what Hank is for. Right Hank?"

Hank was offended by that but it's not like that mattered, "Sure. Um, I – I wanted to tell you, Dr. Brennan, I'm a huge...fan. I thought this book is even better…"

Ellen cut him off, "You know, as far as your photo shoot is concerned…"

Booth walked up to the group at that moment and Brennan could've kissed him for his excellent timing. "Okay, Bones. We gotta go. They found a floater in the marina."

He grabbed her arm gently as he tried to steer her away from her publisher. They had never met, considering that she didn't know about him and who he was. Only a select few knew, a handful really. And that information was given out only on a need to know basis. And if Ellen got wind of this, well then the whole world would know by the end of the day. However, that didn't mean that Booth knew how much she hated dealing with her and all the other crap that being famous entailed. Brennan looked at him thankfully as she introduced them, "Uh, my partner, Seeley Booth. This is the publicist for my book, Ellen Laskow and her assistant Hank…"

Ellen smiled approvingly, "Hello. Now I see why Temperance writes those dirty little scenes in her books."

Booth's eyes widened as he stammered out, "That – That's not me…"

Brennan said quickly, "It's not him."

Booth shook his head, "Not me. No."

Ellen nodded her head suspiciously, "Right. You must let me get you that therapist's number, dear."

Booth then remembered who Brennan was supposed to being 'dating' at the moment. He smiled, "Oh, no, seriously. She's got someone."

Brennan glared at him, knowing that smile, "Booth."

Booth tried to stifle his laugh, "Well, it's nothing to be ashamed of. He is kinda short."

Brennan huffed at his joking, "He's not short. Just because he's not freakishly tall like you are…"

Booth smiled cockily. He knew full well that she liked everything about him, including his 'freakishly tall' stature. "He's short, okay?"

Brennan decided to not proceed with this silly argument, "Didn't you say you had remains for me to examine?"

Booth clapped his hands together as he remembered their case, "Oh, right. Come on. Let's go."

He grabbed Brennan's arm and started to drag her out as she called out, "Well, thanks for the schedule, Ellen." She then happily was taken to the crime scene by her infuriatingly, irresistible husband. This plan of hers was going nowhere.

~BONES~

Booth looked around the marina as they walked down the dock and asked softly, "So is it just me or is this, ya know, kinda weird?"

Brennan looked at him confused, "What?"

Booth pointed out, "Well, in your new book, they found a body at the marina, right?"

Brennan looked at him surprised, "You read my book?"

Booth shrugged his shoulders as if it was nothing. "Of course. Anyhow, a guy docked the boat, saw something floating in the water thought it was a dead fish – it ended up being a decomposed hand. The dive crew just located the rest of the body."

Brennan told him honestly, "I didn't think you'd have time to read my book. I've never seen you reading it."

Booth smiled as he said, "You have time to write it, I have time to read it." He then joked, "Besides, you can't avoid the damned thing. Your book is everywhere."

Brennan smiled at Booth as she bumped shoulders with him affectionately. However, then the divers started to bring up the body and her skin paled, "Booth."

Booth looked at her concerned. "Yeah."

She pointed to the body that was rising from the water, "Look."

Booth's own eyes widened as he noted what was happening, "Wait. Body on the anchor?"

One of the forensic agents nodded, "Yeah, tied to the chain. Body's not tied with rope. The diver said they used…"

Brennan murmured, "Red tape."

They pulled the body out of the marina – wrapped with red tape, as the agent nodded again, "How did ya know?"

Brennan looked at it in disbelief, "Because that's how I wrote it."

~BONES~

As Angela started to check through DMV images Booth pulled Brennan over toward the back of the room, "Bones, how ya holding up?"

Brennan tried to play that off, "What do you mean? Fine."

Booth knew her better than that and he knew that she wasn't okay. This however was how she coped with things. So he told her softly and reassuringly, "Ya know, something like this, it's understandable if you're upset."

Brennan tried to use logic, "It's probably a coincidence."

Sully came into the office at that moment, "Hey, how's it going?"

Brennan looked up at him from where she was standing closely (intimately really, but they were partners and no one thought more of it than that). She hadn't called Sully or even thought of him all day. "What? What are you doing here?"

Booth crossed his arms, "Uh, yeah."

Sully told them, "Well, I heard we had a copy cat killer using your book as…"

Brennan's jaw tightened at that. "That hasn't been established."

Booth took a protective step toward Bones, letting her know that he was there for her if needed. He knew that saying it outright like that was going to push Bones into her walls of logic and rationality. That would not be good right now. "Yeah, I got it covered here, Sully."

Sully told him exasperated, "Well, two hands are better than one, Booth." He just wanted to spend some more time with Brennan.

Booth held up his hands and told him saucily, "Well, last time I looked, I have 2 hands, see? Thanks."

Angela smirked at their interactions, "Testosterone spill on aisle 4."

Brennan started to speak in that detached tone. "We don't know that my book is the cause. So far what we do know is…"

Sully told her bluntly, "Someone died exactly the way described in your book. Do you keep any of your old fan mail?"

Brennan huffed in frustration, "No. I don't read it. The publicist deals with all that."

Booth was nearly standing in front of Brennan now, trying to protect her from him in anyway possible. "Yeah, I mean, why are you asking, Sully? I'm in charge of this investigation."

Sully saw the stance Booth was taking and took great offense to that. He was Bren's boyfriend, not Booth. He was trying to protect her. "Well, Booth, I was a profiler for two years. I have a lot of experience with these cases. This could be someone showing what big fan he is or someone trying to get close to her. Too close."

Brennan told him from behind Booth's back, "I don't need to be protected..."

Booth and Sully said in unison, "Yes. You do."

Sully looked at Booth and conceded, this time, "Look. You still call the shots. I just think I'd be an asset to the team."

Booth nodded, "Okay, Fine. We send all the fan mail to Sully – in his office."

Brennan sighed. As if she had a choice because when Booth got all alpha-male on her, good luck trying to back him down. "Fine. I'll call Ellen."

Sully told her softly, "We could be dealing with a real sicko here." He didn't want her to ill-informed afterall.

~BONES~

(Cut to: FBI – Booth's office. Brennan enters.)

Brennan told Booth as she leaned against his desk, "She was rich."

Booth sighed, "Right. So we got a dead traveling salesman and a prep school socialite. What the hell is the connection?"

Sully came into his office as he told them, "Not Greg Braley. His story checks out. He was camping the night Lopata was killed. Two Rangers recognized him."

Booth looked at Bones and shook his head, "Ah, great. So the only connection we have is the tape and the fact that they were both fed to animals."

Brennan shook her own head, "So we're back to me."

Sully stepped forward, "No. Your book."

Brennan sighed, "Well, I can only deal with what's before me. Two discreet cases. Physical evidence…"

Booth knew now that she was hiding too much behind her logic, she needed a little shove to help her see that this wasn't about her. "Look, Bones. I know it's probably easier for you to, uh, believe that the cases - they aren't linked…"

Brennan looked at him hurt, "No. There is nothing that would make the loss of two lives easier for me, Booth."

Booth told her softly, "I'm sorry, but…"

Brennan told him honestly because she knew what he thought she was doing, "Look, I'm not burying my head in the sand here. I wanna catch whoever did this as much as you guys do, but I have a method and the method doesn't change. I'll be back in my lab." She then stormed out of his office.

Booth sighed and looked at Sully, because in all honestly ever since he came into the figurative picture things had been strained between them. "She wasn't this emotional before you came in the picture."

Sully glared at him, "Ah, I thought you weren't interested."

Booth shook his head, "Ha. Alright, look, I don't need that, okay? Believe me, okay? I'm gonna go talk to Sadie Keller's husband and why don't you just go back to your office there and, uh, sort through the fan mail, alright? Bye." Booth walked past him as he walked out, wanting nothing but for their 'relationship' to end.

~BONES~

Brennan was working on paperwork when Sully entered her office, "Lunchtime, ho!"

He tossed a sandwich to Brennan. However, she put it down and told him, "I'm not hungry."

Sully looked at her disappointed, "Oh, come on. It's meatball! It's the perfect food."

Brennan continued to write, "Shouldn't you be working?"

Sully told her, "I went through the fan mail and gave the likely candidates to Booth to check out."

Brennan told him dismissively, "Yeah, I'm busy, Sully. I'm cataloging injuries the two victims suffered."

Sully sighed, "Hey. I am on your side, Tempe. I know what you're going through..."

Brennan looked at him with fire in her eyes, "Okay, what? What, Sully? What – what am I going through?"

Sully went forward, "Okay. You feel responsible. You feel that somehow if you didn't write that book those two people would still be alive. And you're terrified cause you know that someone else dies in the book."

Brennan told him coolly, "I don't put much credence in psychology."

Sully shrugged, "Yeah, well neither do I. I'm basing this on knowing you. Well. Knowing how much you care about your work and if trivializing it in the book caused this then – but it just – but it doesn't work like that, Tempe."

Brennan told him rationally, "Statistically, the murders would have happened whether - the book was written or not. The method might be different is all."

Sully shot back angrily, "Right. Now if you only believed that."

Brennan looked him with hurt in her eyes. Booth would never have said something like that. Never. "You – you don't know me as well as you think. We're just having a fling, so don't get carried away."

Sully leaned over and reached for her hand, "When you can't stop thinking about someone when they're not around…that's not a fling. When you remember their touch just like they were still right next to you? That's not a fling. If you need to be alone with this, fine - but we both know what we have." Brennan watched him leave her office thinking about what he said. She never thought of him, but she always, always thought of Booth.

~BONES~

Angela was helping Brennan get ready for her book signing as she told Ange, "Sully asked Booth to double security for my book reading."

Angela smiled, "Hot!"

Brennan huffed, "No. I don't need that kind of 'hot'. Being treated like a damsel in distress?" It was true that Booth got protective of her, but she was never treated like a glass figurine. He would let her hold her own, keep a watchful eye on her himself, and only react when he knew that she was in danger. Real danger.

Angela sighed, "Sully cares about you, honey. It's a good thing."

Brennan shook her head, "We've only been seeing each other for a month. You know, he doesn't know me - not really."

Angela smiled knowingly at her friends, "And if he does he won't like you?"

Brennan told her, "I've already given up too much to him. It's…" she held up to earrings, "This one or this one?"

Ange pointed to one set, "This one."

Brennan nodded as slid the on, "Okay. Most relationships end badly. I just think it's important to – to be reasonable. To stay in control."

Angela clasped Brennan's necklace around her neck as she said, "Don't use your brain so much, sweetie. You have other organs that can give you far more pleasure. "

Brennan mock glared at her friend, "I'm just saying that the odds are not in favor of lasting relationships."

Angela tried to get Bren to see what good a relationship could do. "Look. It might end with Sully. Sure. But I don't think you want to rush the process. Look at Hodgins and I. We're running on sex and laughing. The only thought comes when we order take out in bed."

Brennan looked at her seriously, "And you're happy?"

Ange smiled widely, "Hey, we did it in the storage locker an hour ago...I am thrilled."

~BONES~

Brennan looked down at her watch, "I'm going to be late for my reading."

Sully looked at her surprised, "Wait, there's still potentially one more victim. I – I think you should cancel."

Brennan looked at him infuriated, "What? The – the killers not after me, Sully. If he is using the book that makes me the object of these actions not the target. I mean, you're the profiler, right?"

Sully almost yelled, 'I'm just trying to help."

Brennan couldn't believe it. "What? You're making this – this personal! You got yourself assigned to this case just because of me!"

Sully shouted back, "Absolutely! What? You're gonna give me more crap because now because I care about you?"

Booth definitely wasn't going to get involved with that. "Be over here making a few calls..." They both turned to him at his words.

Sully looked at him for support, "A little help, Booth. Do you think she should go alone?"

Booth told her honestly and she already knew his answer, "No, no. Not at all. But there seems to be other stuff going on here, I don't wanna get involved…"

Brennan however was already pissed off that Sully was treating her like a fucking piece of crystal. "No. You agreed with him. You are involved."

Sully offered her a peace-offering, since he really didn't want to argue with her, "Alright, so let Booth take you and that way it won't be personal between us."

Brennan was planning that anyways. "Fine!"

Sully nodded, "Fine."

They both turned to look at Booth who said, "Fine." He was happy with that plan.

~BONES~

Booth was escorting Brennan through the parking lot of Landon & Mason Booksellers as he told her, "Quite a line of people there. Lotta fans, Bones." He then noticed someone approaching them and he turned around and pulled out his gun. "Alright. Whoa, whoa, whoa. Hold it right there."

The guy stopped in his tracks, "Whoa."

Booth shouted, "FBI. Hands in the air."

The guy held his hands up, "I just wanted an autograph!"

Booth told him slowly, "Kay, just wait 'til the Doc gets inside. Okay pal?"

The guy turned around and started to run away, yelling, "I'm sorry!"

Brennan tried to hide her smile. She always found it rather sexy when Booth pulled out his gun. "Was that necessary?"

Booth holstered his gun, "Just doing my job, okay Bones?" He then whispered, "Are you gonna come at me like you came at Sully?"

Brennan glared at him then though, "What is that suppose to mean?"

Booth held up his hands now, "Look, far be it for me to stick my nose into that but I've known Sully a long time and believe me, he's one of the good guys."

Brennan told him tersely, "Well, I know Sully, Booth."

Booth told her honestly, "And I know you babe. Alright, somebody gets too close, you just wanna push them away."

Brennan sighed, "I think you're taking your therapy a little too serious..." She then saw something in front of her that made her stop talking.

Booth shrugged as he smiled, "Maybe, maybe not. Come on, let's go." He realized that something caught her attention. "What?" He turned around and saw a trail of ants, "What the hell is that?"

Brennan looked closer, "Oh. Booth. They're fire ants. Just like the book."

They looked at each other and said in unison, "The third body."

They followed the trail to where they were leading, "Okay there is it, alright."

Brennan noticed how close he was coming to them and whispered, "Careful, Booth. Don't let them get on you."

They followed the trail of fire ants to a shed. They opened it and inside there was a body, wrapped in red tape. Brennan looked at it in horror, "Oh god. It's Ellen."

~BONES~

Booth and Brennan were talking in her office. "Tell ya something, alright? Sales of your book are gonna sky rocket after this."

Booth sat in a chair opposite of Brennan as she told him, "The only problem is our ending is a lot better than the one I wrote in the book."

Booth smiled sexily at her, "What, are you kidding me? Huh? Kathy Reichs and the FBI guy in the back of the AMG?"

Brennan laughed that husky laugh of hers and shook her head in amusement. "The arrest."

Booth leaned forward and smiled, "Oh, yeah. There's that."

Brennan looked up and saw Sully standing in the doorway of her office. That was the first time she actually thought of him again since she last saw him. She needed to do something drastic if she was planning on fully trying to reach a final conclusion. "Sully."

Booth misinterpreted that though and said, "Yeah, you know you really should apologize. I mean, you were really ragging on the guy. He seemed a little frail."

Sully laughed, "Eh, I'm a lot strong than I look."

Booth looked back and said, "Oh, you were…" He got up and stood by the desk, "Hey, Sul."

Sully smiled, "Hey. So, congratulations. You guys make a great team."

Booth smiled as he looked at Brennan, "Mmhmm. It's true." She looked back at him as said, "So true." In more ways than one.

Brennan smiled and then looked at Sully, "Thanks for your help."

Sully shrugged, "Sure."

Booth could tell that something was happening. He just didn't know what. "You know, I should run. Bones, ya know, I – I got stuff." Brennan looked at Booth a new shine in her eyes and smiled. He smiled back and then waved at Sully as he left, "See ya at work, Sul?"

Sully waved, "Yeah, I'll see ya man." Sully moved closer to where Brennan was sitting after he left.

Brennan sighed. She was very open with Booth, the least she could do was try and be open with Sully. She stood up as she said, "I –I did feel responsible, Sully. Do."

Sully told her softly, "And you thought if I saw you, vulnerable, needing me- that I'd run."

Brennan looked at him, "I've been alone most of my whole life. It's all I really know."

Sully smiled down as he stepped closer. "Eh, don't worry. You'll learn fast." He then leaned in and kissed her. She could tell that he wanted to deepen it, but she just didn't feel anything. She tried to, but she could only think of…Booth. That's when she knew she had to go all in. She opened her mouth slightly to allow him access. And still…

Booth had just finished talking with Hodgins when he turned around and saw them kissing. He knew that they were 'dating', but hell he didn't have to like it. It was going to be a long night. He dropped the folder Hodgins gave him down on the nearest desk and headed out the door. He needed something to punch. A good old workout would hopefully do the trick.

* * *

 **A/N: Well there it is guys. I told you angst. And the next chapter will have the major brunt of it. But like always happy rainbows and butterflies at the end! Remember that. And I can only hope that I can update next week. But no promises! Onto more studying!**


	16. Chapter 16

**Disclaimer - I don't own bones**

* * *

 **Chapter 16 – The Boneless Bride in the River**

Brennan and Booth arrived at the crime scene at the river as she told him, "I'm supposed to be on vacation? You know, Sully wanted to show me this boat. Take me away."

Booth snorted, "Oh, that's a good lesson for Sully then, huh? Next time he actually takes you 'away' on vacation, he should, you know, leave town."

Brennan laughed at that. "You had a vacation and never left town."

Booth glared at her slightly, "It wasn't a vacation, it was a suspension."

Brennan smiled, "Plus compulsory therapy..."

Booth pointed an accusatory finger at her, "Babe, don't knock therapy, okay. Dr. Wyatt has helped me realized that there are certain pressures that build up on the job and I need creative ways…"

She interrupted him, "We do everything together."

Booth finished as if she hadn't spoken, "…of dealing with them."

Brennan looked at him confused, "What? What exactly do you have to contend with on the job that I don't?"

Booth couldn't help but laugh at that notion. "You Bones. You don't have to contend with you."

An agent called out to them then and told them what they had, "So we've got a trunk. Looks like it's been wrapped with chains. Battered up pretty good. Most likely came thought the sluice ways upstream in Maryland."

Brennan looked in the lake, "Is it locked?"

The agent shook his head, "Not anymore, it isn't."

Booth squinted down at the trunk, "Is there a body in there?"

The agent didn't have words for what was in there. "Sort of." He opened the box to only reveal what appeared to be a flattened dead woman. "Beats the hell out of me what the deal is with this one."

Brennan knelt down and observed, "Head looks flat. Like the skulls been totally pulverized."

The agent joked, a little, "Maybe she got run over by a steam roller?"

Booth had that mental image flying through his brain now. "Whoa. What are you saying, that she was killed by Wile E. Coyote?"

Brennan stood up and waged her hand, "Okay, I want the whole kip and canoodle transported to the Jeffersonian."

Booth automatically corrected. "Kit and caboodle."

Brennan started to walk away. "Whatever."

Booth walked alongside with her and joked, "Why don't we just wrap this up fast so we can get you back on your 'vacation'."

Brennan looked at him with a smirk, "Thank you. I'd appreciate that."

~BONES~

They were in Bren's office as Cam told them what she found, "The victim was boiled and a number of incisions were made from the top of the skull, around her right ear and down her right side. Then from the left foot, along the outside of the body, to her left hip."

Brennan asked, "Someone with medical training?"

Cam shook her head, "Definitely not. An untrained hand, but a very sharp instrument."

Booth was still stuck on what Cam said earlier, feeling extremely queasy. "Boiled?"

Cm was always amused a little by Booth's reaction to such things. She smirked a little and went into detail, "The entire skeletal structure removed. Then the skin was sewn back around the organs."

Brennan frowned as she thought about that. "It doesn't fit any kind of ritual killing I've ever heard or read about."

Cam shrugged, "The organs are damaged, due to the clumsy cutting, but everything's there. Except the brain and the eyes."

Booth looked up to the ceiling, now knowing he would not be eating lunch that day. "Oh, God."

Brennan nodded, "It must have been difficult to remove all those smaller bones - like the phalanges."

Cam sighed, "Well, it's all gone. I didn't even find one bone."

Hodgins came into the room at that moment with his own findings, "The algae in the trunk is Cyanobacteria called Microcystis aeruginosa…" Brennan got up from her chair and headed toward the door, "the size of the...scum colony indicates 8 days submersion...Dr. Brennan?" She stopped and turned back towards him, "Have I offended you in some way?"

Brennan smiled. She wanted to get over to Sully as quickly as possible so she could then head home and really get to the real reason for her vacation. To write. "Dr. Saroyan said no bones, so you know what that means? I'm back on vacation. No bones, no Bones. I was the second 'bones'."

Cam smirked and shook her head amused, "Very witty."

~BONES~

Brennan was on the docks approaching Dreamer and called out, "Hello?"

Sully popped out from the bottom, "Hey. Dr. Brennan!"

Brennan looked at him confused and went by his title, "Agent Sullivan, I presume."

Sully chuckled at that and then motioned toward himself as he stood in the boat, "So, what do ya think?"

Brennan stated honestly, "I think you're very dirty."

Sully took that as a positive. He had been going excruciating slow with her. They hadn't even slept together yet! "Ooooh..."

Brennan was confused why he said that and pointed to his cheek, "You've got something…"

Sully wiped his fingers across his cheek and saw the grease, "Oh. Oh. Uh, come on aboard, here. So, I didn't think I'd see you for a couple of days."

Brennan tried to act like how an excited girlfriend – she still cringed at that word – would be to be invited on a boat with her – cringe – boyfriend. "I know it's strange, but I actually rather spend time with you than work."

Sully smiled, seeing that he was breaking through her, "Well, I'm flattered."

Brennan walked around the boat a little and asked, "So, um, you renting it?"

Sully smiled and gauged her reaction, "Well, uh, thinking about buying her."

Brennan looked at him surprised. She didn't know that he made that much, "Wow. Can you afford it?"

Sully shrugged, "Well, if I liquidate everything and borrow heavily? Not at all."

Brennan laughed softly. Sully was always joking. She looked at him, "So you'd - you'd live on it?"

Sully nodded, "Her. Ya know, live on her. But before I commit, I want to spend the night on her with you."

Brennan definitely wasn't expecting that. They hadn't even spent a night together yet and he was already putting it out there so bluntly, "What would that prove?"

Sully walked a little closer to her and whispered, "Call it sexual feng shui."

Brennan shook her head, "I don't think that's a real thing…"

Sully tried to laugh off her rejection, "If it doesn't work for us, I don't want this boat…" Brennan walked around him and walked toward the door leading below the deck. Sully of course took it as something else entirely, "Wow. Apparently, you do think it's a real thing."

~BONES~

Booth slowly walked up to the boat. He wasn't afraid of what he would find. He knew Bones would be faithful to him…well he hoped. He heard some movement below deck and winced at the thought of what might be the cause for that noise, "Hey?" He heard Bones' laugh and knew instantly it was not her having sex laugh. Thank the heavens for that! "Ahoy the boat?"

Sully could have strangled that man, "Booth?"

Booth looked at the boat and asked, "Yeah. I need Bones. Permission to come aboard or what?"

Sully stuck his head out from below deck and asked, "Hey. Man. Uh, Is this important?" He was just starting to get Brennan relaxed. She had in fact only gone below deck for a tour but he got her relaxed enough to sit down and have a drink – she just wanted club soda. That didn't stop him from getting turned on though when he told her a joke and she threw her head back laughing.

Booth nodded his head, "Yeah. We got a bone."

Sully mumbled, "Tell me about it."

Booth didn't like hearing that. "It's from the boneless girl…"

Brennan appeared from the cabin, having grabbed her coat at Booth's voice and putting it on, she asked, "Uh, what kind of bone?" Booth was very happy to see that she looked just like when she left that morning.

~BONES~

Brennan pointed to the first thing she saw, "Here and here."

Zach nodded as he saw it too, "Frontal spurring."

Booth nodded his head as he tried to understand what they were saying, "Mhmm. What's that mean?"

Brennan smiled, "Zach?"

Zach explained, "A lot of time spent on the knees."

Booth's widened at that, "Oh. She's either a nun or a prostitute."

Zach shook his head, "No. The tendon attachments on the inside of the patella also suggest squatting. Which is not nun like behavior."

Brennan looked at Booth as she tried to suppress her smile. She knew why Booth had come and gotten her and she was touched. "You didn't need to interrupt my vacation for this, you know."

Booth tried to shrug it off though, "Well, you know. You said to call if a bone showed up and this is a bone."

Zach told them, "The density of secondary osteon structures, suggest the victim was in her early 20's at the time of her death."

Brennan smiled, "See, Zach is capable. You don't need me." She looked at him as he had a silent conversation with her. I do need you, more than you know. But I also love you and want you to be happy, whatever that might be. Brennan knew that this was his silent way of fighting for her. Little things showing her that he wanted to be with her still. She was drawing her final conclusions on her little experiment. But she needed to focus on the problem at hand, so she looked at the screen and noted, "An interesting shape."

Zach nodded, "Square rather than triangular. Classic nail-patella syndrome."

Brennan told Booth, "It's a genetic defect. Also known as Falling's disease."

Booth nodded his head going back to business, "Falling's disease. Right. What's that?"

Zach told them, "Angela said the victims hair suggested Asian."

Brennan concluded, "Our victim may have grown up in a non industrialized, rural environment."

Booth took note of that. "Well, early 20's, Asian, rural area? I'll check with immigration."

Brennan nodded as she thought that one last trip would bring her to her right conclusion. But first she would write some. "Zach will do an osteological profile on the bone, see if we can focus geographically, while I get back on vacation."

Booth looked like a lost puppy as he watched her walk away. He wanted her to be happy, no matter what. But that didn't mean it didn't hurt.

~BONES~

Sat back on the couch on the deck and told Sully, "I've been on Arab dhows about this size, but I don't think I could handle one all by myself."

Sully laughed, "This is a lot more high tech than a dhow."

Brennan still wondered though, "Why...why didn't you ask me to go out with you? I'm a good sailor."

Sully shrugged. She hadn't come over after she left with Booth and he took that as he saying she didn't want to stay over for the night. So he took her out for a ride. But he joked, "Well, ya know, I've got to be able to handle her by myself. I'd much rather have a crew, you in fact, but what if you got conked on the head and ran off with a pirate?"

Brennan laughed lightly at that, letting his wording go by. Just then Booth appeared behind them, "Ahoy the boat."

Brennan jumped slightly as she looked at him in surprise, "Booth."

Sully seriously wanted to strangle that man, "Don't tell me. You found another bone."

Booth smiled, "Well, I got this uh, Chinese book that needs translating. Maybe you, uh, got someone at the Jeffersonian we could, uh, talk to…"

Brennan tried to look irked by his presences. Which was rather hard, "No. I'm on vacation."

Sully sighed, "Well, he'll just keep showing up. Might as well pitch in and get the case solved."

~BONES~

Booth was driving his SUV with Brennan in the passenger's seat. "Homeland Security says the fiancée visa was, ah, expedited by a lawyer on a retainer into a smaller bride agency here in town called The Perfect Wife."

Brennan rolled her eyes, "Well, that sounds archaic."

Booth said softly, "Well, ya know, in therapy I learned that superlatives like 'perfect' are, uh, meaningless."

Brennan looked at him, her eyes soft as she took in his words. He wasn't expecting her to be perfect. God, she loved the man. She however couldn't hold back, "Not in science. A perfect number is a number who's divisors add up to itself as in one plus two plus three equals six."

Booth shrugged, "Well, in therapy I learned that definitive statements are by their very nature, wrong."

Brennan teased, "Isn't the statement, 'definitive statements are by their very nature, wrong' defintive and, thus, wrong?"

Booth laughed, "You hate psychology!"

Brennan shrugged and smiled at him, "You haven't said anything to change my mind."

Booth shook his head amused and told her playfully, "You know, this is exactly why I sometimes do things like shoot up an ice-cream truck."

Brennan joked back, "Well, it's a good thing you had therapy."

They sat in silence for a few seconds when Booth thought of something, "You know, we talked about you in therapy."

She looked at him surprised, "You did?"

Booth nodded his head, "Mmhmm."

Brennan narrowed her eyes, "What did you say?"

Booth knew that now that her interest was piqued that he could possibly persuade her into going to ne of them. "Well, you know, since it was, uh, my therapy, I don't have to share details. Sorry!" As he heard her huff in irritation he knew that he had a very good chance.

~BONES~

Sully dangled a set of keys in front of Brennan after taking her out from the bone room. She looked at the keys in shock, "You bought the boat."

Sully smiled, "Finalized this morning."

Brennan looked at him confused, "Wait. Sailboats have keys?"

Sully chuckled, "Well, no. Not, not really. These are the keys to the marina but ya know, it's symbolic."

Brennan smiled, "Congratulations."

Sully looked at her seriously as he told her, "So I'm gonna tell you something and I want you to think about it a while before you answer."

Brennan nodded her head, "Okay."

Sully took a deep breath and prepared her, "Well, you say okay, but it takes you microseconds to think things though. So this time I'd appreciate it if you, ah, took a breath 'cause – it's big."

Brennan shook her head and laughed softly, "What is it?"

Sully told her, "I'm headed south, in the boat to the Caribbean."

She definitely hadn't been expecting that from him. "When?"

Sully looked down, "When this case is done."

Brennan was still slightly stunned, "You quit the FBI?"

Sully shook his head, "No. No, not yet. I'll take a couple of months to get used to the boat. Ya know, really check it out and then I'll start running charters – probably for the Turks & Cacaos which is…"

Brennan observed, "You're…You're really talking a lot." It was making her nervous.

Sully smiled at her nervously, "I know. And I haven't even gotten to the main part. Which is, um, I really, really want you to come with me."

Brennan was definitely taken aback by that. He wanted her to come with him. Wow. "You do."

Sully stepped closer to her and said, "I do. Look, take a sabbatical. There's more to life than, than corpses and murderers. You know, we do this job for too long, we get warped. I, I can feel it happening already and maybe you can too. Let – Let's run away together." Brennan just looked at him though and gave no reply. She still couldn't believe it. "Well, ya know. Think about it." Sully could see that she was in a state of shock, so he asked softly, "Wanna hug?" She took a step back, trying to decide what to say. "Okay, no. God, that's, that's a lot – lot to process, so just, ya know, I don't know, ya know let me know when you think that maybe…" She then hugged him tightly. She didn't know whether it was a thank you for offering her this or for finally seeing what she truly should have known from the start. He hugged her back though, not knowing her own warring thoughts and whispered, "Okay."

~BONES~

Brennan walked into Angela's office as Cam left. She knew that she should feel a certain way when the – and she could have laughed at this later – perfect man asked her something like this and she just needed to have that confirmed. Angela looked up at her and smiled, "Want me to bring you up to date?"

Brennan shook her head and sat down, "No. I want you to tell me what to do."

Angela's smile fell as she saw her friend's distraught face, "About what?"

Brennan told her, "Sully wants me to run off with him."

Ange didn't hesitate. "Go."

Brennan knew it! She should feel like that. "For a year."

Ange still said, "Go."

Brennan shook her head, "He wants to run a charter boat around the Caribbean."

Angela laughed, "Go."

Brennan sighed, "He says I should take a sabbatical." She shouldn't be feeling like this but she was…and it was wonderful.

Angela's smile came back, "Go. What is the downside? He's a great guy. This is a great idea."

Brennan told her one of the reasons why she didn't want to go, "I'll miss you guys."

Angela waved that off, "Oh, we'll meet you in Barbados. Look. You have been working every day since I met you. It's time to let another part of yourself out into the sun. With a bare chested man and a tropical breeze."

Brennan laughed with Ange as Zach walked into the room. She had her suspicions confirmed. She knew what she wanted. She just had to see one last thing.

~BONES~

Booth and Brennan watched as the casket was being exhumed. This was the first real time that they had a chance to be by themselves (well sorta by themselves) and talk. Brennan told him softly, "Sully bought that boat."

Booth shook his head as he thought of his friend – although he didn't know he if could call him that anymore with how they'd been at each other really. "Yeah? Ha. Next thing you know he'll be shipwrecked on some island talking to a volleyball."

Brennan smiled slightly at that. "He's leaving for the Caribbean."

Booth looked at her surprised. He was relieved, but he could also sense that there was more. "Really. Look, I'm – I'm sorry, Bones. I – I know that you really hoped this could've worked out…"

Brennan looked at him with emotion swarming in her eyes. "He wants me to go with him."

Booth was thrown by that. "Oh. Oh…yeah…"

Brennan continued to look at him, "He – he says I should take a year off, a sabbatical. He says it'll be fun."

Booth saw the reflection of emotion in her eyes. He didn't know however, this time, who it was for. He hoped and prayed it was for him, but like he told her when they first started going out, he wanted her to be happy. Even if that meant he was to be without her. He looked down as he kicked a rock gently, "Yeah, it would be."

Brennan was near tears as she said softly, "But you just said he'd be shipwrecked with a volleyball."

Booth shrugged his shoulders, "Well, he's got you. He doesn't need the volleyball."

Brennan stepped closer to him and placed her hand on his arm. "You think I should go?"

Booth really thought about it. He was never the type of man to just let the things he loved go without a fight. But Bones, she was different. If it made her happy, then…"Yeah. Yeah, I want you to be happy. I mean, you know it's, uh, one year out of your life, huh? I mean a persons gotta - live wide. And this is kinda narrow. If Sully makes you happy, then yeah." Brennan just wanted to throw her arms around his neck and kiss him. The man was so selfless. How could she have ever doubted what she felt for him? However she was taken out of her thoughts when they heard a crushing sound.

~BONES~

Booth and Brennan were in a car watching as Sully prepared to meet Harper in the alley. Brennan asked quietly, "How did Sully find Harper so quickly?"

Booth shrugged. Bones still hadn't said anything about whether or not going. He seriously needed to know though, to prepare himself. "He didn't say. You know, Sully's a nice guy."

Brennan looked at him still amazed at how much he loved her, "You sound condescending."

Booth sighed, "I'm just trying to be nice, okay? I'm complementing the fact that you got a good one this time."

Brennan was taken aback by that. "Thereby implying I'm incapable of making my own judgments."

Booth joked softly, "The physicist who couldn't tie his shoes? Oh, the former professor who was, uh, jealous of your own success. Should I stop?"

Brennan sniffed, "Yes."

Booth laughed, "Oh, the guy that you found on the Internet and ended up being some kind of recruiter for a cult. Oh, and this is my favorite – the guy who cut off his own brother's head because he thought he was possessed by a witch." He paused and then told her quietly, "And then there's me. You know, if he makes you happy that's all that really matters."

Brennan didn't know what to say to that. "Booth…"

Booth cut her off, "Look I'm just saying a guy who wants to take you away from all of this on a sailboat – that's a step up." Brennan was about to tell him that he was the thing that made her happy. Him alone. But then Harper approached Sully and Booth whispered, "That's our guy."

Brennan nodded as she was about to get out of the car, "Okay, So when do we take him off?"

Booth chuckled, "Down. We take him down when Sully puts his cap in his back pocket."

Sully put his cap in his back pocket then and Booth told her, "Now. Freeze!"

~BONES~

Booth was interrogating Jackie Burrows while Sully and Brennan watched from the observation room. Sully walked over and turned off the speakers. He continued to look at the interrogation as he spoke, "You know Booth, uh, is a really good guy."

Brennan laughed slightly, "He says the same about you."

Sully looked at her surprised, "Really? 'Cause I figured he was the one talking you out of going with me."

Brennan shook her head as she watched Booth, "No. He told me to go. Angela did too. Everyone thinks it's a great idea."

Sully looked at Booth and then at Brennan, "Everyone except you. But you're not gonna go, are you?" She shook her head no. "Why, Brennan? Sailing around warm oceans with someone who loves you? Please. Tell me what is holding you here. Look. I don't – I don't want to sound conceited but, um, I think I'm worth the risk."

Brennan told him empathically, "You are. You definitely are."

Sully sighed, "Alright, well, you're the logical one. What's your thinking?"

Brennan exhaled loudly, "Rationally…Rationally thinking, I should want to go. And I know I should go but...I can't.

Sully didn't understand why she wasn't going, but he had his suspicions. "What you're doing, it's important. But it's not important enough to be your whole life." He kissed her soundly on the lips and then turned and walked out the door – leaving Brennan alone. She wiped a tear away from her eye as Booth – still in the interrogation room – gave her the thumbs up and led Jackie out – they got their guy. She laughed at his happy smile. And knew she made the right choice.

~BONES~

Brennan walked up on the platform and saw the skeletons of William Chang and Li Ling Fan laid out – side by side. She paused to look at them – obviously affected – then headed over to the 'wedding picture' that Angela painted for them and picks it up. She tears again started to form in her eyes as she thought about what she would have lost. She remembered her own wedding. It was nothing big. Far be it. It was just six people total, including them. Hank Booth had been there, Parker was still so young but he too had been there, as well as Rebecca and Caroline (who had married them) and then her and Booth – of course. Just a small wedding and then Caroline had made sure that all such information of their marriage was blacked out (she always knew some judge that owed her a favor) and said information was given out on a need to know basis, since Booth was dealing with a rather hard case. He had already been threatened and driven the criminal under-ground but they didn't want to take any chances. Brennan looked at the picture and thought of her own picture of them. Pops had taken it just after they had kissed for the first time as husband and wife. She wore a flowing ivory white (even though she didn't wear it for the symbolic purpose – hence it being ivory white and not white) dress and he wore – as he liked to call it – his James Bond suit. They were resting their foreheads against each other, as they so often did when they were in their own world, and had the most loving smile on the faces. She cherished that picture. She turned around, determination in her steps.

~BONES~

Booth had been slightly surprised when he heard their front door open. He turned around and was about to ask her something when She grabbed his face in between her hands and kissed him passionately. He wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her closer. They finally broke apart when air was a necessity and Brennan panted out, "You make me happy Booth. Only you. Forever you. No one else, just you. I'm sorry that you ever had to doubt that. But I now know that you were right. Anthropology was wrong on this one matter, I can only love one man. And that is you. God, I love you so much…"

However Booth didn't need to hear anything else. His heart had swelled when he heard her say those words. So he showed her just how he felt and kissed her again. He wrapped his arms around her body, one finding its way into her hair and the other one lifting her so her legs could wrap around his body. He carried her to their bed and placed her down gently. That night as they stripped each other, they worshipped each other, showing how much they loved and needed one another. And as Booth entered her she gasped as emotions ran through her every fiber. She chanted in his ear, "You, only you. Forever. Love you, so much."

Booth in turn would thrust hard with each word, grunting, "Always you. Bones, you're it. Love you." And then they shattered together and if it was possible they would have become one.

And as Booth dozed off in sleep – the first real restful sleep in a long time – she gently traced his facial bone structure and whispered, "You mean the world to mean." She kissed him gently on his chest and snuggled deeply, taking a deep breath of his scent. His arm tightened just the slightest bit around her as her breathing evened out and Booth whispered, "You too Bones. You too."

~BONES~

Sully was on his boat and looked back at Brennan – who was on the docks – and waved. She watched as he left and waved goodbye back to him. She smiled softly, happy that Sully came and went from her life. He had helped her more than he would ever know. Brennan turned around to head home – only to catch Booth on the docks behind her. She laughed, "What are you doing here?"

Booth smiled, "I'm waving goodbye. See?" He then waved for effect.

Brennan walked up to him and shook her head in amusement. "What do you want?"

Booth threw her his cocky grin, "Breakfast."

Brennan wrapped her arms around his waist. "I'm not hungry."

Booth looked down at her and joked, "Oh, come on, huh? What are ya gonna vomit when we come across one of those, uh, horrific cases?"

Brennan told him honestly, "I don't vomit."

Booth chuckled, "Everything happens eventually."

Brennan leaned her head against his shoulder as they started to walk down the dock. "Everything?"

Booth wrapped his arm around her shoulders and smiled, "All the stuff, okay, that you think never happens – it happens. You just gotta be ready for it." Brennan smiled at that. As long as she had Booth, she would be happy with whatever happened. Anything and everything.

* * *

 **A/N: So it wasn't that bad right? I even added a little smexy scene in there for you guys. How awesome am I? =P I guess this makes up for me not updating last week and a big thanks to NatesMama for your supportive words! You ROCK! Reviews are loved!**


	17. Chapter 17

**Disclaimer - I don't own bones**

* * *

 **Chapter 17 – The Priest in the Churchyard**

Booth stood behind Brennan as she examined the body and whispered annoyed, "You know, the priest made a complaint. He said that you made fun of consecrated grounds?"

Brennan smirked slightly, "No, I didn't. Perhaps I was a bit… colorful."

Booth looked at her incredulously, "Colorful?"

Brennan shrugged her shoulders, "Writerly. I'm a bestselling author, Booth."

Zach spoke as if the two of them were not having a conversation, "The victim is thirty to forty years old."

Booth told her almost harshly, "He's an old-school priest, Bones."

Brennan had to scoff at the implications of his words, "What, so I'm supposed to walk on eggshells because someone believes that a plot of earth has supernatural properties because they waved a wand over it?"

Booth shook his head, "It's not a wand, it's a… the church doesn't use wands…"

Brennan conceded slightly, "Fine, magic water."

Booth couldn't believe her words! She knew what it was and she purposefully misused the words just to irk him. "Magic? Holy water."

Brennan smirked, "The terminology makes it real?"

Booth tried to take a deep calming breath…but that didn't work. "Okay, you know what, I can't work with you on this case."

Brennan looked up at him surprised and slightly hurt. The last few days ever since Sully had been…interesting. To say the least. They each tried to act as if nothing was wrong between them and even after that incredible make-up sex they had the night before he left, they hadn't really touched each other except for the usual hand on the back or morning kiss goodbye and even those were few. Things were strained and that worried both of them. They made up and knew that they loved each other. Right? "What, what do you mean? The victim was clearly murdered; we investigate murders. Together."

Zach, again, told them his observations as if they weren't talking. It would have been amusing if the tension in the air was on fire. "There's evidence of blood pooling on the frontal bone, and an absence of concentric fractures. That requires investigation."

Booth told her pointedly, "I'm not working the whole case with you attacking my beliefs." He then said the unthinkable, "You should have just sailed off with your boyfriend."

Brennan looked up at him hurt evident in her expression. Did he really feel like that? Had her own experiment ruined what they had forever? But as Brennan always was her defenses came up and those damn walls were built in an instant. She told him in a chilled tone, "Funny, a man who believes in an invisible super-being wants to run my personal life."

Zach stated, "Death would have followed quickly, caused by cranio-cerebral trauma."

Booth instantly regretted what he said. But it was out there and it couldn't be taken back. He also knew that Brennan had been hurt by his words by her chilled tone. Damn, this is not what he wanted. He sighed and tried to stay on the 'matter' at hand. "By the way, 90% of the world believes in God."

Brennan huffed, "And at one time, most people were certain that the sun revolved around the earth."

Booth had had this argument with her early on in their relationship and they had agreed to almost never speak of religion again. Of course that never happened, but she chose to respect is views…well as much as she could tolerate. But that right there as just her getting back at him for what he said earlier, "You see what I mean?" He then decided to say what needed to be said without saying it at all. I know, complicated, right? "I don't think this is about religion at all. We obviously have issues, okay, that are affecting our working relationship. And you're afraid to deal with them, so you just lash out at my religion."

Brennan didn't want to talk about this. She needed to prepare herself for the worse, which was sure to come since nothing happy ever lasted in her life. She just had to get used to being lonely, "Can't you just be satisfied that if I'm wrong about God, I'll burn in hell?"

Booth crossed his arms, "It's tempting."

Brennan nodded. "Good. How about we get back to work? You know, I think we both still want to find out who killed this man."

~BONES~

Booth was driving his SUV back from the church and told Bones, "You know, it doesn't help the case for you to insult the priest. We're supposed to be gaining their trust so they'll help us."

Brennan looked at him and narrowed her eyes. "Matt wasn't threatened, you were."

He then looked out the window-shield and shook his head, "We're definitely not working well together."

Brennan had built up her walls high enough for this conversation since they had left the lab. She could deal with this now. "Because you are bossy and judgmental."

Booth shot back at her, "Problems between people, it's never just one person's fault."

Brennan sniffed at that. She had come back to him. She chose him and now he was the one backing out. "What about Hitler? He did pretty well on his own."

Booth was aggravated beyond belief. He sighed as he thought of the one thing that could possibly help them and the one thing that he had wanted to try for sometime now. "Bones, just... come with me to go see Dr. Wyatt, once."

Brennan shook her head almost vehemently, "No. Therapy is a vague and inexact process. The man shouldn't even be called a doctor."

Booth shrugged his shoulders and told her the obvious, "Well, he helped me. I mean, are you so threatened that you can't even do a favor for someone you call your husband?" He then threw her his charm smile.

Brennan looked at him and that smile. Damn the man. She could never say no to that smile and he knew it. "I will speak my mind, Booth. I will speak my mind."

Booth smiled triumphantly at her words. This was progress, good progress, "Okay."

~BONES~

The three of them sat in the Royal Diner at their usual table as Booth exclaimed, "She refers to God as my invisible friend."

Brennan pointed out, "You're talking to somebody who isn't there. I'm sure that the doctor questions your little fantasy."

Gordon Gordon held up his hands in neutrality. Watching this couple was rather intriguing and quite a show. "My beliefs aren't at issue here, Dr. Brennan."

Booth told him, "Clearly, she's intolerant, and it's affecting our working relationship."

Brennan talked to Gordon Gordon as she told him of the recent change, "Yes, he's very difficult to work with. Booth said that you could fix us, so..."

Gordon Gordon narrowed his eyes at her words. Interesting. "What now is proved was once only imagined. The rat, the mouse, the fox, the rabbit, watch the roots; the lion, the tiger, the horse, the elephant, watch the fruits. The system contains, the fountain... overflows."

Booth had been trying to follow along his speech but he just…didn't get it. "What?"

Gordon Gordon smiled at him and then looked at Brennan. He knew she would appreciate his quote. "Oh come now, surely you get the reference."

Brennan nodded as she took a fry from Booth's plate – interesting – and said, "William Blake."

Gordon Gordon nodded, "Yes, Blake is telling us that we're all at the mercy of our fundamental natures. Nonsense of course, but when we understand our natures, we understand the resulting conflicts."

Booth was still trying to get his words…but they were just out of his reach. "What?"

Brennan sighed, "I hate psychology."

Gordon Gordon exclaimed, "As do I! It applies a patina of science over what is essentially a dark and complex set of roiling unknowables."

Booth smiled as the first words registered and looked at Brennan, "You see..." And then the second portion didn't register quite that well. "What?"

Gordon Gordon leant forward and whispered, "You weren't fighting about religion."

Brennan looked at him confused, "But that's what Booth said."

Gordon Gordon shook his head, delving into the really issue that these two didn't want to address in a discreet manner. "No, religion provided the flashpoint you needed to expose an underlying issue. I will find out what that issue is, help you resolve it, and set right the balance of dark and light in the universe."

Booth smiled as he finally got the doc's words. "Isn't he great?"

~BONES~

Booth looked around the lab as he stood on the platform with Gordon Gordon. "Yeah... you know, I got no problem with this place. It's where Bones and the Squints get their answers. See?" Booth then placed his thumbs in his belt.

Gordon Gordon took note of that. "Thumbs in the belt. That's a very aggressive stance... very male." Booth then crossed his arms. "Crossed arms. Defensive." He then shoved his hands in his pockets becoming agitated with Gordon Gordon's observations. "Disdain. But let's not worry about what you do with your hands. What you must do is recognize your negative feelings for what is, after all, Dr Brennan's domain, and verbalize them."

Booth nodded slowly. "Verbalize them? What, now?"

Gordon Gordon smiled, "Mm-hmm."

Booth thought about it for a moment and then said, "This place is too... it's too shiny. It's bright. It's clean."

Gordon Gordon raised his brows and asked, "Clean is bad?"

Booth exclaimed, "Death isn't clean. Especially murder, which is our business. This place is completely fake, it's bogus."

Gordon Gordon dove deeper, "You'd like to destroy the entire edifice?"

Booth got this giddy smile on his face as he said, "Oh, I'd like to rip the whole edifice down with my bare hands or set it on fire. Except, you know, there's nothing in this place to burn... all the plastic and the metal and the flashing lights, you know, and the arithmetic. I mean, where is a guy, a normal guy who believes in intuition and the soul and good and evil..."

Gordon Gordon added, "And God?"

Booth nearly jumped in response. "Yes, and God too. Where is a guy who doesn't believe in all this arithmetic supposed to stand?"

Gordon Gordon nodded his head, happy to see that Booth finally verbalized his worst fear. Well one of many that is. "So your problem with Dr Brennan is that you don't know what will or will not catch fire, or where you stand."

Booth nodded his head but then his words sunk in and he was very confused, "Heh. What?"

Gordon Gordon smiled, "That's good. Now that's, that's very good."

~BONES~

Brennan was in the interrogation room with Gordon Gordon and told him, "Booth kicked me out of here."

Gordon Gordon observed, "For you to say kicked out means that you've acquiesced in the idea that this is his domain."

Brennan pondered his words and let them marinate for a few seconds before she answered, "Domain... yes. He's good at questioning people. He can... he can tell when they're lying."

Gordon Gordon asked, "Can you?"

Brennan told him a half-answer, "I've learned a lot from him about people."

Gordon Gordon probed, "But?"

Brennan sighed, "It's not that Booth has a sixth sense. There is demonstrably no sixth sense to have. Obviously he reads minutiae of body language, pupil dilation..."

Gordon Gordon smiled, "Yes. You don't sound very satisfied with your own argument there."

Brennan stood up and told him, "Booth likes to say: there are more things in heaven and earth, Bones, than are dreamed of in your science. That's, uh, a bastardization of a writer named Shakespeare, from a play called 'Hamlet'."

Gordon Gordon nodded as he took in her words, "Yes, yes, I was... uh, I was aware of that. So, if you're so uncomfortable here, why come?"

Brennan shrugged, "Because something goes on in here. He does something."

Gordon Gordon encouraged, "And you want to find out what it is, dissect it, so that you can do it yourself."

Brennan nodded, "Yes!"

Gordon Gordon dropped in, "So that you can do it without Booth. So that you won't need him anymore."

Brennan was near stunned to hear him say that. She didn't want to not need him anymore, "No."

Gordon Gordon questioned, "No?"

She shook her head vehemently, "No! I just want to observe."

Gordon Gordon pointed out, "Surely if you want to observe, you can do that on the other side of the mirror there; instead of insisting on being in this room, with him, out of your element."

Brennan shook her head, "Observation isn't just seeing, Dr Wyatt, it's experiencing. Ideally I prefer being inside Booth's head. You know, seeing and feeling things the way he does. Then maybe I'd understand."

Gordon Gordon smiled knowingly at her, "Be one with him."

Brennan looked at him skeptically and then answered slowly, "In a scientific sense…" Her cell phone then rang and she looked at the text she received, "Booth needs me. Hodgins has a line on the murder weapon."

Gordon Gordon smiled and waved, "Ta-ta then. We're done here."

Brennan nodded her head slightly and told him, "Thanks."

~BONES~

They were sitting in the diner as Brennan deposited her idea, "So you still think Father Donlan is the killer? I mean, Matt could have killed McCourt and taken his post?"

Booth looked at her confused, "Why?"

Brennan tried to explain it rationally, "Because McCourt was going to come clean about being a paedophile, maybe accuse Matt if they knew each other? Of course, there's no evidence of that. I have no intuition."

Booth poured some sugar into his coffee as he shook his head, "None. Zilch."

Brennan pointed out, "You have no analytical skills. I mean, you're all about emotion and feeling."

Booth didn't get where she was going with that. "Well..."

Brennan tried to suppress her smile, "They say that means you have a well developed feminine side."

Booth looked at her as if he had been struck, "Who says that?"

Brennan stifled her laugh, "Psychologists."

Booth could have rolled his eyes at that. "Oh..."

Brennan said, "What? You're the one who believes in them."

Booth took a sip of his coffee and said, "Let's just stick to the case. We know that Father Donlan is this harsh, judgmental guy who keeps being sent these problematic priests. There's McCourt, there's Father Matt..."

Brennan shook her head, "No proof."

Booth sighed as she cut him off. He was the one that did this for a living. "Yeah, but Bones, it happens, alright? Anyways, Father Donlan, he's getting old, he can't deal, so he takes action."

Brennan asked, "Old Testament action?"

Booth threw his hands up in the air and exclaimed, "Alright, there you go again, you're attacking God."

Brennan defended herself, "I am not attacking God, he doesn't exist, so how can... religion is part of..."

Booth of course spoke over her, "Unbelievable, you know, God is not..."

Gordon Gordon decided at that time to break the two up from that little squabble. "Quarrelling? Yes, of course you are. Uh, cup of coffee please, dearie darling. I am here to put right what has been rent asunder."

Booth wanted to kiss the man, "Great, he's figured out our problem."

Gordon Gordon nodded, "Yes."

Brennan asked incredulously, "From three meetings?"

Gordon Gordon smiled at her naïveté, "I knew what your problem was right off the bat, if you'll forgive the cricketing metaphor. The meetings were for fun. Booth never knows where to stand when he's in the lab, feels like teats on a bull whenever he's there. Ditto Dr Brennan in the interrogation room. Simple geography, sense of belonging, et cetera."

Booth stated more than asked, "But that's not the main problem."

Brennan scoffed at that. "He can't possibly know."

Gordon Gordon told her matter-of-factly, "Yes I do. You're both afraid that the reason Dr Brennan didn't sail off into the sunset with her 'boyfriend' Sully might have been because of her ties to Agent Booth. You are both quite wrong."

Brennan knew why she didn't go but she also wanted to see if this doctor had any really findings. "Why didn't I go with Sully?"

Booth was a little scared to hear what the doc was about to say. "How's he supposed to know?"

Brennan looked at him and told him honestly, "Sully is perfect! We communicated well, the sex would have been incredible, he invited me to sail around the South Seas in a beautiful yacht for a year. I mean, why would anyone turn that down?"

Gordon Gordon smiled, "In my opinion, you are finally coming to terms with your true feelings for Agent Booth. And your catalyst came when you encountered this Sully fellow and you had the option of staying here with your husband or going off into the world with a man you did not love. You have finally come to accept that love is much more than something within the brain and that you cannot quantify it with science."

Brennan huffed, "I hate psychology."

Booth smiled as he took in Gordon Gordon's words, "You don't like it because he's saying that all this tension between me and you is... your fault."

Gordon Gordon shook his head, "Mmm, on the contrary. If anything, your issues are more pronounced, given that your behavior is being affected by what turns out to be a quite irrational fear of being responsible for someone else's destiny. And also the fact that you fear that Dr. Brennan's past feelings have not changed about love and commitment."

Brennan sipped her drink, "That makes sense."

Booth scoffed at that, "Oh, now you like psychology."

Gordon Gordon clapped his hands together and smiled, "I think you'll both be able to work together just fine, now that your minds have been set at ease. And if anyone else shall ask about this we shall tell them that Dr. Brennan here, is unable to lead a purposeless life at this stage in your psychosocial development. Which, by the way, is an issue you should address, because a certain amount of purposelessness is necessary to lead a full life." The waitress came with his to go cup and said, "And thank you, dear. Ta-ta then."

They both watch Gordon Gordon leave. Booth leaned forward and whispered, "You, uh, feel anything?"

Brennan narrowed her eyes, "Feel?"

Booth smiled knowingly at her. "Yeah, you must... feel something."

Brennan smiled back at him and whispered, "I do. You know what I feel? Father Matt has been sick a long time."

Booth nodded, "He got treated for the fungus."

Brennan told him, "But he hasn't shown any signs of recovery."

Booth tried to follow her, "So?"

Brennan got that glean in her eye, "I feel that's weird. I mean, his symptoms should have cleared up by now. I feel that since Father McCourt was poisoned..."

Booth smiled full on now. "We should have Father Matt checked for the same poison. Ahhh."

Brennan laughed softly, "What?"

Booth wanted to jump up in joy, "We're back!"

Brennan laughed out loud then and said, "We're back!" They then high-fived each other and were finally able to see that they wanted the same thing.

~BONES~

Brennan smiled as she stood up from the table. She was happy that she was able to help her friend. Gordon Gordon smiled, "Oh, you're not leaving, are you Dr. Brennan?"

Brennan nodded, 'Uh, Booth and I have to put our notes together for the prosecutor, so..."

Gordon Gordon asked, "And so, you and Booth, you making any further assumptions about each other?"

Brennan smiled knowingly at him and shook her head, "No. No assumptions. Thanks."

As she left Gordon Gordon smiled, "Good."

Ange watched her friend leave and then turned to him, "Look at that. You fixed them too."

He just nodded his head, "Hmmm."

But she wasn't buying it, "Alright, listen up, Monty Python. You got it right with Hodgins and I, that's fine. But we both know that you are full of it on the other thing."

He scoffed at that. He knew that this young lass didn't know about them, "I have no idea to what you refer."

Angela supplied, "Brennan didn't run off with Sully because she cannot live a life without focus. She stayed because of Booth."

Gordon Gordon chuckled, "Ah, now you're projecting, Ms. Montenegro. Agent Booth and Dr. Brennan are not you and Dr. Hodgins. I stand by my diagnosis."

Ange snorted at that, "You stand by the FBI. Your first priority is to get agents back into the field, solving murders."

Gordon Gordon chuckled, "Mmm. Your romanticism is endearing, but as the Bard says, 'lovers and madmen have such seething brains, such shaking fantasies, that apprehend more than cool reason ever comprehends.'"

Angela smiled, "He also says 'journeys end in lovers meeting, every wise man's son doth know.'"

Behind them, outside the diner, Brennan got into Booth's SUV and kissed him soundly on the lips. Gordon Gordon witnessed that and smiled, "Hmmm. Excellent.

Angela thought that he was speaking about her said, "You betcha. Monty."


	18. Chapter 18

**Disclaimer - I don't own Bones**

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 **Chapter 18 – The Killer in the Concrete**

Brennan and Booth were at the crime scene. She slammed the trunk of the SUV shut as she hiked her messenger bag on her shoulder. Booth thought back to all the places she's been and said, "So, you've been here before, right?"

Brennan looked at him confused, "No."

Booth chuckled softly, "I don't mean here, here. I mean Baltimore."

Brennan nodded her head, "Yeah, I've given several lectures to the Baltimore Homicide Division."

Booth smiled at her and that caused extreme discomfort to move throughout his jaw, "Oh, god."

Brennan looked at him concerned, but she then saw that he was holding his jaw tenderly and smiled. If only he listened to her. She poked him gently, "What's wrong with your mouth?"

Booth moaned in pain, "I still got a tooth situation."

Brennan shook her head, "Well, I told you to go to a dentist."

Booth knew that she was right but he didn't like the idea of going to the dentist. "I – I will if it doesn't get any better within the week. Ow! Man."

Brennan could help but tease, "Are you afraid of the dentist?"

Booth huffed in frustration. Disliking something was not being of afraid of it. "I'm not afraid of the-"

However an officer interrupted them as he came up to them and informed, "Welcome to Baltimore. This is, uh, actually a federal flood abatement project, which is why we called you. K-9 unit was using it for an exercise, and one of the cadaver dogs went berserk. We dug up the cement…"

Brennan corrected, "No. That's concrete. Cement is an ingredient in concrete."

Booth snorted softly. That was his Boens always correcting someone when they were misinformed. God he loved her. "Yeah, that's a real important distinction to make at this juncture. So, what do we got, Bones, huh? Do your thing."

Brennan knelt down and examined what little was shown. "Nothing."

Booth nodded his head and actually started to write it down when he looked up at her, "Nothin'. Nothing?"

Brennan stood up and told him, "I can't see enough of the skull, the tibia, the pubis. Nothing."

Booth watched her retreating form and said, "Nothing? Wait a second. Nothing." He looked at the cop and apologized, "Sorry." He then started jogging after Brennan. "Now we drove all the way here so you could just tell me 'Nothing'? Alright, so what do ya, what do ya want me to do? Uh, get the whole slab of cement…"

Brennan corrected, "Concrete."

Booth shook his head at her correction again. "Concrete, whatever – shipped back to the Jeffersonian?"

Brennan nodded her head information. "Yes. Yes."

~BONES~

Booth and Brennan were making their way to the platform after her encounter with her father. Booth had been surprised that the call came in, but he was even more surprised that Brennan had been the one to call that in. He asked her curiously, "So, did you talk to your dad at all before you called the cops?"

Brennan looked at him confused, "No. Why would I?"

Booth shrugged his shoulders. In all honesty if he ever had that type of opportunity he would have jumped on it like nobody's business. "Well, I mean, I haven't seen my dad in a long time and if I had the opportunity to talk – ow, god." He gingerly touched his cheek as another bolt of pain waved through his system.

Brennan looked at him and told him sternly, "Go to a dentist." He was just being a child now.

Booth almost pouted, "Well, I will if it doesn't get any better." Brennan rolled her eyes at that remark. It obviously wasn't getting any better.

~BONES~

Booth was back in the lab after having lost the bounty hunter. He was trying to read the DNA report, "Hey, huh? Look at that, huh? DNA is a match." Brennan came up behind him and turned the report so that it faces the right way. It was upside down. She smiled and shook her head in amusement. He could be so…cute sometimes. And she did not like using the word cute very often.

Cam told him, "West Virginia state troopers got a DNA sample at Ice Pick's arrest. This is definitely his leg. Was she pretty?"

Brennan looked at her confused, "Ice Pick is a male."

Cam smirked as she shook her head, "I mean, the bounty hunter who gave Booth the slip."

Booth shook his head, not amused, "You know, she didn't get away 'cause she was pretty..."

Brennan looked at him with a slow smile spreading across her face. "She was a she?"

Booth thought that Brennan might think that he was flirting with someone else and he tried to tell her otherwise. "No, she was a…" But then his damn tooth started to hurt again. He grabbed his cheek again and said, "Oh, God."

Cam looked at him concerned, "What's wrong with your mouth?"

Brennan reached for his face, but he pushed her hand away as she told Cam, "I'm guessing the anterior molar on the left side is infected. The leg was surgically amputated."

Cam shook her head amused by Booth. "Go to a dentist."

Brennan shook her head, "He's afraid of the dentist. These kerf marks are consistent with a type of wire saw used to remove horns from heifers."

Booth's pain finally subsided as he said, "Ah, so Ice Pick and his bounty hunter set up a car accident with a dummy victim so everyone stops lookin' for him."

Brennan nodded, "Two years later he kills Conc…" She corrected herself, "Cement Head."

Cam still couldn't get over the fact… "She hoodwinked you 'cause she was hot."

Booth looked at her pointedly, "Alright, look, ya know what? She wasn't hot. In fact, she looked like a man."

Brennan smiled knowing exactly what he was thinking. She nudged him with her hip affectionately as Cam looked down at the leg again. She smiled at Booth gently, trying to alleviate his worries, "The amputation was probably performed by a livestock veterinarian."

Booth smiled down at her and then remembered something else. He picked up a folder and lowered his voice, "Hey, Bones. I got that other thing you want to discuss..."

Brennan looked at him in anticipation, "Oh. Let's," she looked at Cam, "go to my office so we don't disturb Cam."

~BONES~

Booth and Brennan were heading into her office as Booth told her, "You know, I was going through your father's criminal…"

Brennan shushed him for being so loud, "Shhhh!"

Booth continued in a whisper, "…criminal record, and he was right about one thing. Alright, he never ended anyone's life who didn't have it comin' to 'em."

Brennan shook her head, "He's a sociopath."

Booth shrugged his shoulders, "Well, maybe, but at least he aimed in the right direction. Ow! God!" He grabbed his cheek once again.

Brennan had had enough of all this nonsense surrounding his tooth, "Let me take a look at your tooth."

Booth looked down at her worriedly. It hurt. A lot. "Alright, just – go easy. You promise?"

Brennan smiled warmly at him, "Okay."

Booth took in a deep breath and nodded, "Alright?"

Brennan whispered, "Open up." She then placed her hand on the side of his face to look inside his mouth. However he started to mumble something, which of course she couldn't understand, "What?"

After she let go of his face he told her, "In the Old West, he would have been considered a hero."

Brennan grabbed his face again and pushed down his jaw, "Yeah, well, the Old West was a time of chaos…" Booth cried out in pain. She continued as she looked more intently at his tooth, "And violence that, anthropologically speaking, our country it still trying to recover from." Booth grabbed her shoulders. He was in pain, a lot of it. And thank god when she released his jaw, "Yeah. I was right. Anterior molar on the left side – it's infected."

Booth held his cheek gingerly. "You know, your father never killed any hard working, taxpaying citizens or honest cops. Ow."

Brennan asked him curiously, "You still think that society should forgive him?"

Booth shrugged, "Well, I'm saying, if I have the opportunity to arrest him, I will. But you know who maybe should forgive him? His daughter." Booth's cell phone went off with a text, "Oh. Look at that. Our small-town crime boss is here. Let's go have a little chat with him, shall we?"

~BONES~

Brennan was sitting at the counter drinking coffee at the Royal Diner when Max came in. "I just want to talk about your mother."

Brennan looked at him with those eyes that knew something was seriously wrong. She only ever had them when she was worried and scared. She whispered, "Booth is missing. It's been over 18 hours."

Max nodded. "He tried to take down Hugh Kennedy by himself?"

Brennan snorted softly, "He's only got one leg and he's old."

Max shook his head, "Yeah. You know how he got old? By being fast and paranoid. He cut off his own leg."

Brennan told him, trying to reassure herself, "Booth is tough."

Max sighed, "What does the FBI say?"

Brennan said bitterly, "Nothing."

Max saw that she was pissed about that. "Yeah. Need to know, right?"

Brennan wanted to yell at them that she needed to know because he was her husband, but that wouldn't end well and she knew that that would get her nowhere. "Mmhm. I want to do something but I don't – I don't know what."

Max looked at her with hope, "Are you asking?"

Brennan looked at him with some trepidation. She wanted it but, "You'd help find the man who's going to put you in jail?"

Max shrugged his shoulders. He saw that Booth meant a lot to his little girl and that was enough for him. "Well, Booth will – will do the best he can. I'll do the best I can and we'll see how it works out when we get there. Wh-where did he find Kennedy?"

Brennan smiled gratefully at him. "Baltimore."

~BONES~

Veleska knocked Max down and Brennan attacked her with a crutch but Veleska knocked Brennan down and ran out into the hallway. Brennan and Max stepped out into the hallway. Max noticed a rug then, "Come on, help me. Pull! Pull!" They pulled the rug and Veleska fell and hit the wall and then the ground. "She reminds me of your mother. Hey. Hey, listen to me. I like you but if you make another move on me, I will hurt you, understand?"

Brennan noticed something on the ground and told Max distractedly, "If her name's Veleska, she's the same bounty hunter who brought in Kennedy's leg."

Max sat her up and asked, "How'd you find him?"

Veleska snorted, "It's not that hard to find a one-legged, old white hit man in Baltimore. "

Brennan knelt down and found a tooth on the ground. She picked it up and examined it. "Why is she after him?"

Max already knew that answer, "She has to make sure that Kennedy stays gone."

Veleska told him, "I helped a wanted fugitive evade arrest. I'm not going to jail."

Max saw the distress on Brennan's face he looked up, "What do you got?"

Brennan knew in her 'gut' what it was and a cold fear took over her body. "It's a left anterior molar. It's Booth's tooth." She came up to them and punched Veleska in the face as she yelled, "Where's Booth?"

Max was taken aback by her passion for her partner as he saw her anger. "Temperance, honey." He grabbed her hands to stop her from hitting Veleska again.

Brennan shook her head as tears started to form in her eyes, "Kennedy has Booth, Dad. He's got Booth!"

Max knew then that there was something else between the two and that if Booth died it would crush her. "Okay."

~BONES~

Booth was tied to a chair and Gallagher hit him across the face. But he remained stoic, not even flinching. Lightner said, "Perhaps he didn't see Kennedy."

Gallagher chuckled, "Yeah? Now how'd you come to that though?"

Lightner shrugged, "Well, Kennedy would've have left him with an ice pick protruding from his head."

Gallagher leaned forward and whispered, "Just one simple question, big dog. Did you see Kennedy?" However Booth still remained silent.

Lightner suggested, "We could get our own ice pick, make it look like Kennedy killed him."

Gallagher chuckled menacingly, "You know we can't let you live, right?"

Lightner told him matter-of-factly, "You've been struck and restrained. Technically, kidnapping a federal agent is as bad as murdering him these days. How would you like to kill him?"

Gallagher shook his head, "First I gotta know for sure if Kennedy's dead or alive."

Booth snorted and told him sarcastically, "Good luck with that one, big dog."

Gallagher chuckled at those words, "Big dog."

Lightner then said quite enthused by the idea, "Oh, I suppose we could do that thing that McKenna used to do. But I'd need a blow torch and a sharpened screwdriver."

Gallagher shook his head, "Just tell us."

Booth quietly leaned near his ear and whispered, "Woof."

Lightner pulled a picture of Booth's wallet and handed it to Gallagher. "Ah"

Gallagher looked at the photo. He knew that woman, she was this man's partner. "Oh, cute. Must be his kid, huh. And what is this your girl holding your boy. It must be nice working with her huh. Get to bang her whenever you want." Booth remained stoic though even though he wanted to rip the man apart for even talking about his family. Gallagher punches him in the face again. "Head like an anvil. I hurt my hand. Alright." He leaned forward and held up the picture of Parker and Brennan – the one that he showed Dr. Goodman so long ago – and said, "Gonna let you take a look at your sweet boy and woman. Consign their faces into your memory and then I'm gonna ask you which one of your eyes you like best."

Booth ground his teeth together to stop himself from shouting for him to go to hell and went with head butting Gallagher, knocking him to the ground. Lightner kicked the chair that Booth was tied to over and started kicking him in the stomach. Repeatedly. Booth could feel blood seeping down his abdomen as he grunted in pain. He just needed to hold out for Bones to find him.

~BONES~

Brennan and Max were driving in the car drawing closer to the airport as Booth was getting beaten by Gallagher and Lightner.

Lightner was using a blowtorch to the head a screwdriver to heat it up. He was just pressing it against Booth's leg just as Brennan and Max broke through the door. Booth used his shoulder to knock down Lightner while Brennan rushed over to him and Gallagher turned and ran away out of the airport. However, Brennan paid no attention to him as she took in Booth's appearance. She gently stroked his cheek as she whispered nonsense to him in soothing tones. She whispered then as Booth sagged against her hand in exhaustion, "I love you." He whispered back to her his 'I love you' too when Lightner rolled over, revealing he had been impaled by the screw driver. "If you lie really still, you may not die."

Max came running out to them and whispered, "I need your car."

Booth, who was still on the ground tied to the chair, started to say, "Max Keenan, you're under arrest."

Max shook his head, "Not if I get the keys."

Brennan thought for a second before she whispered back at him, "They're in the ignition." Max kissed her on the forehead and headed out. Booth gave her a surprised look as he watched him leave. She shrugged, "Well, it's not like I actually gave him the keys."

~BONES~

Booth and Brennan were sitting and talking at home as he leaned back against their head board. Brennan gently stroked a soothing pattern on his chest as she asked, "Why didn't you just – just tell them about Kennedy?"

Booth shrugged as he smiled down at her, "Well, ya know, I needed to give you time to find me." When she gave him a concerned look her kissed her forehead and squeezed her shoulder with the arm that was wrapped around her, "Ah, I've been tortured worse. So, uh, you hear anything from your old man?"

She nodded and leaned away from him to grab something out of her night stand. She took out the letter and the glass dolphin and placed them on her lap as she settled back against his side. Booth picked up the dolphin as she whispered, "He left my car in the garage."

Booth then picked up the letter and read it, "He'll be back."

Brennan looked at him surprised, "How do you know?"

Booth smiled softly at her, "Max Keenan does not strike me as the kind of guy who, uh, leaves things undone."

Brennan sighed and asked seriously, "Next time he shows up, what do I do? Do I call you? Do I knock him on the head? What's my obligation?"

Booth told her honestly as he gently stroked her arm, "Well, if I were you, Bones, I'd wanna know what he has to tell you about your mother, but, uh, that's just me."

Brennan snuggled deeper into his side – of course being careful to not aggravate his injuries – as she smiled, "There's, uh, this old song. It's called 'Keep on Trying.'"

Booth nodded, "Yeah. Poco."

Brennan was surprised by his knowledge even though she really shouldn't have been. "You know it?"

Booth began to sing softly, "I've been drinking now, just a little too much."

Brennan joined in, "Much."

They then sang together, "And I don't know how."

Booth smiled down at her as she continued to sing, "I can get in touch with you." He loved her voice.

Joining in with her, "You. And there's only one thing for me to do."

Brennan smiled warmly at him, "It's to keep on tryin'"

Booth smiled at her as they sang the last part together, "Tryin'. To get home to you."

Booth laughed softly as they finished, "Yeah, what about it?"

Brennan shrugged as she said, "It's a good old song, right?"

Booth nods, knowing that it has more meaning than she's letting on. "Right." He squeezed her shoulder again affectionately and kissed her on the cheek. She would let him know when she was ready. They had the rest of their lives, after all.


	19. Chapter 19

**Disclaimer - I don't own bones**

* * *

 **Chapter 19 – Spaceman in a Crater**

Brennan was sitting at her computer as Booth stood in front of her desk holding a picture and file. "Meet Colonel Calvin Howard. Senior training specialist and crew liaison in the shuttle program. Currently working in the National Space Agency in Bristol, Maryland."

Brennan looked at the picture and compared it to the image on her screen. "Angela just sent me her work in progress of the partial skull reconstruction. She says we expected too much too soon, but the shape of the head, the cheekbones..."

Booth nodded in admiration of Angela's talent. "Close enough for jazz."

Brennan started to read the file on the Colonel, "Six months in the international space station. Plus, a number of servicing missions to both the Hubble and Lansing telescopes."

Booth had a thought, "Wait. Does that add up to the right amount of bone rot?"

She rolled her eyes at his deliberate mispronunciation of the term. But she couldn't hide the smile that came along with it. "Loss. Bone loss. And yes. Has anyone reported him missing?"

Booth shook his head, "No, not exactly."

That caused her to raise her brow in question, "Not exactly?"

Booth elaborated, "Well, astronauts are regarded as viable terror targets. Their whereabouts are extremely confidential."

Brennan thought about that for a moment when it came to her. "I bet if you told the agency you were going to identify Colonel Howard to the press, they'd be a little more cooperative."

Booth smiled proudly at her. That's his girl. "Yeah. You know, I have been a wonderful influence on you."

Brennan smiled at him intimately, but she couldn't help tease. "Well, actually, I learned that move from Cam."

Booth faux-pouted at her words. "Yeah, well, I went the other way with it: looked up his wife in the phone book."

~BONES~

Booth and Brennan were in the SUV, while he talked into his phone, "Yeah, I just need to know if it's still in the hangar or not. It's a Cessna turboprop plane registered to Colonel Calvin Howard. Thanks."

After he hung up, Brennan finally spoke her thoughts from what she saw at the widow's house, "It just seems so odd. Those women stick together like a harem."

Booth looked at her surprised, "What? They support each other, you know?" He pointed out, "A lot of service wives are like that."

Brennan never felt like she needed to be like that with Booth. Of course, Booth hadn't been in the Army when they were dating or since they've been married. But still, why would she? "Well, what about astronauts' husbands?"

Booth tried to get her to see what the other women were feeling. "Look, their husbands train for years, Bones. All right? Their families invest their entire lives." He wondered what it would have been like if he had stayed in the Rangers and they'd been married. Would she be an 'Army Wife'? He nearly snorted at that image. Bones would never be like that. That was for certain. He was taken out of his thoughts as his phone rang though.

~BONES~

Hodgins has been trying to get up the nerve to ask Booth something since he got there. Hence his walking around and messing with everything that he knew would bug him. He told Booth matter-of-factly, "Pluto's no longer a planet. It was demoted. And if the Lansing was pointed away from the Earth, why would they need to black out all this material?"

Booth hadn't thought of that. See this is why he asked Hodgins here. "Huh."

Hodgins finally blurted it out, "Can I ask you a question?"

Booth regarded the man for a second before he nodded, "Yeah."

Hodgins dove in, "What's the deal on proposing to, you know, a woman?"

Booth could deal with those type of questions. "Oh!"

Hodgins sat down and asked seriously, "I mean, what is the absolute proper way to do it?"

Booth snorted softly at. He thought back to his two proposal and how they both ended. Well one ended badly but the other not so much, but he still remembered that slap. Man oh man. "I don't know. The first time I did it, I got shot down flat. And the second time I did it, it didn't go as planned."

Hodgins asked, "Did you do it by the book?"

Booth wanted to be honest here, and since Hodgins did already know about him and Bones… "Mmmmmm. Well, no. With the first one, we were waiting for the stick to turn blue or not to turn blue and I realized I wanted to marry her if the stick was blue or not. And the second one, well Bones slapped me for proposing like I did and after I explained myself…well you know."

Hodgins sighed and leaned back in his chair, "Yeah, that's sort of what I did. Only without the sticks and slapping part."

Booth looked at him surprised, "You asked Angela to marry you?"

Hodgins laughed slightly, "Apparently I didn't do it right."

Booth shrugged and smiled encouragingly, "Do it again. Go all out this time, right? With the dinner and the gettin' down on one knee, the violin." After a second thought he added, "Forget the violin." Too cliché and definitely not Angela.

~BONES~

Brennan was sitting on her couch in her office when Booth walked in. "Hey Bones, I ran a check on the S.T.C. They're part of the tinfoil hat squad."

Brennan scrunched her brow in confusion, "What's that?"

Booth smiled as he joked, "They were tin little hats. Probably to keep aliens from controlling their minds."

Brennan's mouth formed on 'O' of recognition, "Oh, schizophrenics?"

Booth stifled his own laugh at her words. God, she could be adorable sometimes, "It's hard to believe that Colonel Howard was part of an organization like that."

Brennan asked, "Do they have access to planes?"

Booth snorted, "Access? Are you kidding me? They actually have a border patrol division. Members fly their own private planes and do bimonthly sky patrols in search of U.F.O.'s."

She then asked after a moment of realization came to her, "Do they file flight plans?"

Booth smiled brightly at her, "Babe, you're a genius. I could kiss you right now! Look, two nights ago they had planes on U.F.O. patrol within spitting distance of where Colonel Howard's body was found."

~BONES

Booth and Brennan were once again driving in the SUV as Brennan theorized, "Cal's friend knew about the S.T.C. His wife knew. Maybe the agency did as well."

Booth still couldn't picture that, "So they killed him by tossing him out of an airplane?"

Brennan shrugged her shoulders, "That field is less than a mile from the coastline. Obviously, they were aiming at the ocean and they missed."

He shook his head still not buying into it, "The question is why. I mean, it's a big ocean, right? There has to be a reason."

Brennan supplied, "Maybe it wasn't a U.F.O. that Cal saw. "

Booth could definitely see that happening, "Ah."

She told him honestly, "He could've seen something else." Now she was starting to sound like Hodgins. This was bad.

Booth threw out gleefully, "Yeah, like a death beam or a space baby."

Brennan shook her head as she smiled at him. "I was thinking more along the lines of a spy satellite or experimental technology. Maybe the agency was afraid that Cal was sharing sensitive information with the S.T.C."

Booth thought about it but still wasn't going with it. "Well, regardless, our government does not kill people. Okay, Bones?"

Brennan pointed out before she could think about her words. "You were a sniper. Wasn't it our government who sent you to kill people?" She nearly grimaced after her own words registered and the look Booth shot at her told her she was out of line there. She whispered softly, "Just saying. Sorry."

~BONES~

Brennan and Booth walk through the lab as they talked about their case. "Somebody's lying to us, right?"

Booth sighed exasperatedly, "Yeah. Maybe everybody."

Brennan too was getting frustrated that they were going nowhere with this case. She may or may not have started to take said frustration out on Booth, unexpectedly, "Well, this is your strength. Reading people's minds, telling when they're lying."

Booth looked at her shocked. He knew they were both aggravated with this case, but seriously? "My strength? Wait a second. The trouble is...no, no, you haven't given me anything that I can spring on the suspect to see how he reacts."

Brennan glared at him slightly, "Like what?"

Booth pointed out, "Like a murder weapon. Or whether the poor bastard was dead before he hit the ground."

Brennan had to give him that point, "Zack and Angela say he was."

Booth could work with that. "Okay, well, that's something. Dead how?"

Brennan shrugged as she told him, "Best guess right now, a broadsword."

Booth let that soak in for a few seconds and…Yep, that didn't make any sense. "Broadsword? Like King Arthur?"

Brennan nodded her head. "Yes." She loved it when Booth used terminology that she knew.

Booth on the other hand watched as Bones walked away from him. That clue did him no good at all! "Broadsword? You know what, Bones? I like the whole alien thing much better. Broadsword? Where do you people come with this stuff?"

~BONES~

Brennan was at her desk as Booth walked in. "Did you eat yet?"

Brennan smiled up at him and shook her head, "I said I'd wait." She knew that booking took longer when it involved two people. "How did you know that James would tell me?"

Booth shrugged his shoulders as he grabbed her coat off the rack and walked over to her, "Oh, man loves his wife. He may not be strong, but he has a conscience."

Brennan let him 'help' her put on her coat (she let him be an alpha-male to an extent every now and then). "See, I can't tell that stuff."

Booth wrapped his arm around her shoulder and squeezed it, "And I can't tell the difference between coral and bone, so I guess we make a great pair." He smiled down at her and then remembered, "Hey, speaking of marriage, Hodgins is gonna propose to Angela tonight."

They started to walk out of her office, now hands merely grazing each other so as not to rouse suspicions. That did surprise Brennan though, "Huh."

Booth looked at her when she said that, "What?"

Brennan shrugged, "I guess right now it looks to me like marriage is having someone who will slap your enemies and then toss their dead bodies out of airplanes."

Booth shook his head and laughed softly. They were almost out of the lab and no one was really there anyways, so he grabbed her hand and turned to look at her, "Try not mentioning that to Angela." He then dragged her up against him and kissed her softly as he whispered, "And marriage isn't all that bad. After all, you did marry me."

Brennan rolled her eyes and pushed away from him, still holding his hand though. "That is true, isn't it?"

* * *

 **A/N: I know short, but que cera cera. What will it be, will it be...**


	20. Chapter 20

**Disclaimer - I don't own bones but I know we can dream it.**

* * *

 **Chapter 20 – The Glowing Bones in the Old Stone House**

Brennan and Booth had just arrived at the scene as they walked with the Major as he debriefed them. Brennan had to know though, "So no one touched the body."

The Major shook his head, "Hell no. But we're gonna need an ID ASAP. We could be dealing with a group that's acquired nuclear material."

Booth was a little perturbed by this fact, "It's actually glowing?"

The Major had no idea why or how, but he did know that. "Oh, yes."

Brennan nodded her acknowledgement and told him, "I'll need a video link with my lab."

A homeland security agent approached them from behind and spoke to the Major softly, "Excuse me, Major? The reactor at Kensington is secure. All transports carrying radioactive material have been halted."

The Major nodded his head appreciating and told him, "Dr. Brennan's gonna need a... video link up to the Jeffersonian."

The homeland security agent nodded his head in understanding, "As soon as possible. The rain's really slowed things up."

Brennan passed Booth her bag to take off her coat and he took it automatically. This is what they did. She'd give him something to hold without asking and he'd do the same thing. Over the years, they had become in tuned to one another like that. Booth turned toward the homeland security agent and called out, "Okay, thanks!" He then turned to the Major and Bones, "See, uh, bodies, they don't usually glow."

The major shrugged his shoulders, "Yeah well, that's why we're taking all these precautions." They arrived at the back of a van, in which there were radiation suits. The Major pulled a pill bottle from his pocket and handed it to Brennan as both of them took off their coats. "Alright, this is Potassium Iodide, these are your suits."

The Major grabbed a kit from the back of the van and left the two of them alone to change. Booth for his part didn't like the sound of having to take pills for something like this. Was it that dangerous? "Pills?"

Brennan hand Booth some pills from the bottle as she explained, "Yeah. It helps the," she swallowed some herself as did Booth, "thyroid block the absorption of radiation." Booth and Brennan took the radiation suits from the back of the van and began to put them on. Brennan had wanted to tell Booth something since last night but she hadn't had time for that due to some other extracurricular activities, "You know, Angela turned down Hodgins again."

Booth looked at her confused, "What?"

Brennan explained, "Hodgins proposed. Angela turned him down."

Booth looked at her in disbelief. Did she really want to talk about that now, with the threat of radiation poisoning? She was something else that was for sure. "You really wanna talk about that now."

Brennan shrugged. "Why not? There's been no confirmation of danger yet."

Booth laughed softly at that. "It's just, you know, weird, you know, talking about uh, marriage when we're, you know, trying to avoid radiation poisoning."

Brennan shook her head. She didn't get why Angela would consider marriage, "No, what's weird is Angela thinking about marriage at all."

~BONES~

Brennan and Booth were now fully dressed in their radiation suits and rejoined by the Major (also in a radiation suit) as they approached the crime scene. Booth couldn't help but touch on the topic that they had before. Her last statement was somewhat unnerving, "People fall in love and they get married. That's what people do."

Brennan smiled softly at him, amused that he now wanted to talk about this. "I thought you didn't want to talk about it."

Booth shook his head, "Look, I'm just saying! I know you believe in love."

Brennan tried to tell him honestly her two standings on love, "I believe that dopamine and norepinephrine simulate euphoria because of certain biological triggers like scent, symmetrical features..."

Booth had to laugh at that slightly, "Symmetrical features."

Brennan nodded as she explained, "Yes, it's an indication of a good breeder." She then gave him a knowing look, "You appear to be a very good breeder."

The Major laughed at their bickering and asked, "How long have you two been going out?"

Brennan's eyes widened at his words. He couldn't possibly know something, "What?"

In unison they both said in cover-mode, "We're..." They then accidently knocked their helmets together, "We're partners."

Brennan added hastily, "That's it."

The Major shook his head as he said, "Huh. Me and my partner talk baseball."

The Major and Brennan lowered their radiation suit helmets and entered the stone house as Booth called out, "You might not want to admit it, Bones, but there are some things like love that just can't be measured in your lab." Brennan of course knew that but she hadn't been able to finish her stance on love. She was in love with Booth and she knew that it was more than chemicals.

~BONES~

Cam just came onto the platform and saw the remains, "Wow, you weren't kidding. If we twirl her around, we can pretend we're at a rave. What's the good word, Hodgins?"

Hodgins erupted, "Hey, I am not a party trick!"

Cam looked at him surprised, "Are you okay?"

Zach explained, "The bones probably remind him of Waitomo Cave."

Hodgins glared at Zach, "Not. True."

Brennan smiled at that mention of that cave. "I've been there! In New Zealand. It's filled with tiny glowing worms, and in the darkness it looks like thousands of stars. Very romantic." It had been very romantic on her and Booth's little trip there when he accompanied her one time to one of her excavations. It had been extraordinary. She sighed internally at the memories. Booth for his part to thought about their time there and he had to try very hard to not get turned on in front of everyone by that memory. But, oh man, was it a good one.

~BONES~

Booth and Brennan were watching Angela find a match for the skeleton's fingerprint. "Okay. Carly Victor, twenty-nine. Carly Victor?"

Booth looked at her as he heard recognition come into her voice, "Do you know her?"

Angela nodded, "Yeah, she's that celebrity chef."

Brennan couldn't believe it. She was stunned at the news of that. "Carly's Table over on Calvert. Chef would explain the cuts to her left hand, and the burns."

Angela nodded, "All right, this is her MySpace page."

Booth thought for a second and then he remembered where he heard that name before, "Wait a second, is that the place with the famous mac 'n cheese?"

Angela nodded, "Yeah. It's like, impossible to get into."

Booth snorted at that. Impossible wasn't the word to use there, "Totally impossible."

Angela smiled a little, "You too?"

Booth said as if it was obvious, "Well, mac 'n cheese, that's God's best handiwork."

Brennan nodded her head, "She puts leeks in it, and…and little bits of pancetta. It was delicious."

Booth looked at her with big eyes. "How'd you get in?"

Brennan told him, "I'm a best-selling author, Booth. I get in anywhere." She then whispered, a little ashamed, "I took Sully." She had wanted to take Booth – for a surprise – but then Sully had said they hadn't been hanging out enough and that he wanted to take her out on a date…so she had used that reservation for them.

Booth asked quietly, "Did he have..."

Brennan nodded, "He said it was the best he ever ate." She then looked at the screen to avoid his expressive eyes, trying to think of a way to make it up to him. Brennan pointed at some pictures, "Why are all those pictures on her page?"

~BONES~

Booth and Brennan entered a very busy, very trendy restaurant. They came to the front podium, where the hostess was seating patrons. "Welcome to Carly's Table. Do you have a reservation?"

Booth muttered, "Yeah, like that's possible."

Brennan had been standing behind him but then step to stand next to him, slipping her hand in his so the hostess knew the he was with her. "Oh, Dr. Brennan! I'm sorry, I didn't see you there." The hostess began leading Booth and Brennan into the crowded seating area, "We're very crowded tonight, so you might have to wait a few minutes."

Booth intertwined their fingers and smiled down at her amused, "You can walk in here without a reservation?"

Brennan smiled at him and then asked the hostess, "We need to talk to Dan."

Booth added, "Carly's husband."

The hostess nodded as she told them before leaving, "Oh, just a moment."

Brennan whispered softly with laughter in her voice, "She knows he's Carly's husband."

At that moment a waitress walked by carrying a plate of macaroni and cheese. Booth's eyes widened in joy as he said excitedly, "Bones, Bones, Bones! Mac and cheese! Mac and cheese!" Booth grabbed some of the macaroni and cheese from the plate the waitress was carrying, and ate it.

Brennan couldn't believe that he had just done that and smacked his arm, "Booth!"

Booth licked his fingers and smiled in ecstasy, "Wow. That's amazing."

~BONES~

Angela and Brennan, having left the examination table, were now walking towards Brennan's office. As they walked, Brennan was removing her lab coat, as she asked, "Are you still torturing Hodgins?"

Angela smirked, "He loves it."

Brennan chuckled and shook her head, "Just tell him no. Put him out of his misery."

Ange asked, "What if I want to say yes?"

Brennan couldn't see them getting married after only dating for such a short time, "You get married?"

Angela sighed, misinterpreting her friend's words, "Sometimes your brain just shuts off, because you're... in love. "

Brennan definitely didn't agree with that, "One can't logically base a decision on momentary happiness."

Brennan and Angela came into Brennan's office, where Brennan hung her lab coat on a coat stand as Angela tried to explain her meaning, "Haven't you ever just looked at a guy and said, 'Screw it'? ...Well, maybe not the best choice of words, okay, but... Like, when you were with Sully. Don't you regret letting him go?"

Brennan didn't regret anything she did with Sully. It made her see and accept her love for Booth. "I made a decision. Regrets serve no real purpose. If you want to be impulsive, why don't you just say yes?"

Angela sighed as she sat down, "Because I've also got you in my head, telling me that marriage will hobble my personal and legal freedoms." Brennan's cell phone rang as she continued, "You're a very difficult best friend to have."

Brennan smiled at her as she answered her phone, "Brennan? I'll grab my things." Brennan closed her cell phone and moved back to her coat stand to grab her jacket. "Ernie's story checked out. Carly took out a restraining order on Dan, and Dan took out a two-million-dollar life insurance policy on her. See? Marriage! It..."

She was about to explain that it needed time to get to that point, but Angela cut her off, "Oh, just go."

Brennan shook her head and started to walk away, "I'm going."

~BONES~

Angela sighed as her prior words came to her. She didn't mean them to sound as bad as they had, "Mm. You know, when I said before that... you were the difficult friend inside my head... it's not necessarily a bad thing."

Brennan smiled at her, "Yeah, I know that sharing a strong emotional attachment with another human being can be a good thing. But there seems to be a disconnect between my mind and..."

Angela said softly, "You know, I... I shouldn't have brought up Sully before. I'm sorry."

Brennan sighed then. How could she explain this without revealing too much. "It's just... If a relationship seems more than casual, I feel that I need to posit the potential problems. Probabilities of success and failure, or..."

Angela interjected, "You get scared."

Brennan nodded. Could she tell Angela that she did know what it was like to fall so hard for someone that even when she was scared senseless, even after positing all the good and bad, she came to the point that even with the most problems they could succeed. She looked at her and saw that Angela was scared herself. Brennan wasn't good at reading emotions well, but she knew that if someone had tried to help her through her own thoughts and reasoning, she probably wouldn't be here right now. She knew that Angela needed to find her way through this one herself, so she asked softly, to see if Angela could get her answer from this question, "But I miss so much, don't I?"

Angela smiled sadly, "I want to say no, but... yeah. You do. And so does whoever you're keeping yourself from."

Brennan was going to tell her that the same would apply to her, but then Zach came in.

~BONES~

Booth had been trying to follow what Hodgins was saying. But he was no squint, "What's that mean?"

Hodgins smiled, "That is was most likely used for industrial applications." After a moment's pause he started, "Do…hmm." But he stopped himself from asking it. He needed to do this on his own.

Booth looked at him confused, "What?"

Hodgins shook his head as he looked back down, "No, I'm not gonna ask you again."

Booth was very, very confused, "About the ceramic stuff?"

Hodgins explained, "No. Angela. No more, I'm done."

Booth was surprised to hear that, "Oh. You're done with Angela?"

Hodgins eyes widened in shock. "No." He then tried to reason with himself, "But...Hey, I fell in love with a free spirit, and if getting married makes her feel trapped or something, then I'm... I'm just gonna have to deal with it."

Booth started to back away slowly, not wanting to get swept into this conversation again, "Right, so you don't wanna get married anymore."

Hodgins said, "Sure I do. "

Booth shook his head at this man's thoughts, "You know what? This whole ceramics stuff was making more sense to me..."

Hodgins explained, "But Angela doesn't. And I don't want to drive her away like you did with Rebecca."

Booth turned back to Hodgins at that statement, slightly offended, "Whoa, I did not drive Rebecca away. We both agreed that it wasn't right. And I'm happy about that choice."

Hodgins pointed out, "After you asked and she said no."

Booth sighed, "Well, when you say it like that it's..."

Hodgins nodded as he thought about how Booth and Dr. B were now married, and they appeared to be happy, "If it had been right, it wouldn't matter if you were married or not, would it? Because you'd have a life together. Like you are now."

Booth still didn't see this man's logic, "Great. Then why not get married?"

Hodgins exclaimed, "Because then we wouldn't be able to be together, see this is all coming so clear now!"

Booth shook his head, "Not really."

Hodgins smiled at Booth, "You put on that macho front, but inside you understand."

Booth so did not. "I don't understand"

Hodgins wasn't buying that though, "That which the mind can't grasp..."

Booth started to walk away again, "Alright, you know, I'm just trying to catch a murderer, but you seem to have gone way past that."

Hodgins told him in a brotherly tone, "It means a lot, knowing that you get it, man. Most guys... not secure enough to admit that."

Booth definitely needed different friends than these squints, "Hmm. I have a headache." Booth's cell phone rang then, giving him a needed break, "Booth... Yeah. I'm on my way." Booth hung up his cell phone and turned to Hodgins, who was walking towards him, "Abby just..." Hodgins however engulfed him in a bear hug, leaving Booth in a very awkward, uncomfortable position, "Woke up... I need you to figure out what that stuff is. Okay. Um. It's so much easier just to fight and shoot guns." Booth pulled Hodgins off of him, then turned and called to Brennan, "Bones, she's awake, we're goin'!" Man he definitely needed to find more friends.

~BONES~

Booth and Brennan were in Booth's SVU, discussing the case, "You know, we'll get him, Bones, alright? Don't worry."

Brennan sighed, "We do this all the time. You know, I should be used to it. It shouldn't bother me."

Booth tried to comfort her, "No, it should. Was she, uh, really gonna teach you how to cook?"

Brennan nodded sadly, "Yeah. I've always understood the basics of cooking, the physics of it, but... Carly said she was going to show me what it was really about. To her, she said that it was a way of... well, she said 'loving' but then, she was prone to hyperbole."

Booth smiled and squeezed her hand, "Well hey, I mean, that's what family dinners are all about, right? Those are some of my, uh, my best memories."

Brennan had been fighting with some internal things since her talk with Angela that had been bothering her. Thank goodness she had Booth to talk to now. "I'm not as cold as everyone thinks, Booth."

Booth looked at her a little shocked to hear her saying that, "Okay, that was a leap."

Brennan sighed, "Just because I think marriage is an antiquated ritual doesn't mean that I don't want Angela and Hodgins to be happy. I'm happy with our marriage. I have an appreciation and a need for emotional and physical intercourse, just like you. I just think that Ange and Hodgins are rushing into this without much forethought."

Booth grabbed her hand again and intertwined their fingers, "Bones, baby, listen to me. What we have people search for, for all of their lives. Angela and Hodgins have their own kind of love."

Brennan leaned heavily against her chair, "It's just that, before you asked me to marry you I had thought about what it would be like. Weighing the pros and cons. All the horrible things that could happen between us, from my own insecurities to our pasts. But I saw that, together, we could make it through whatever life gave us. I just want them to think about that. See if they can stand against the worst things possible and still come out at the end together and intact." She then saw that Booth was looking at her differently, "Did I make you uncomfortable?"

Booth shook his head as a slow smile spread on his face, "No. Not at all. You just amaze me sometimes."

Brennan smiled back at him and leaned against his shoulder, thanking someone – she didn't know – that she had found Booth.

~BONES~

Booth was sitting at the dining room table while Brennan finished cooking at the counter. He told her, "You know, you should let me help."

Brennan shook her head as she told him, "No." This was her gift to him for being so understanding and caring for her. She brought a bowl of mac 'n cheese over to him and set it next to him as she joked softly, "Cleaning up. You can do that."

Booth smiled at her, "Great. Wow! Heehee! Mac and cheese!" Brennan returned to the kitchen, got a bowl for herself, and joined Booth at the table. "Wow! Bones! This- this looks fantastic!"

Brennan smiled brightly at him, "Yeah? Really?"

Booth still couldn't' believe that she went through so much trouble for him. Usually they made dinner together. "Oh, I mean, you shouldn't have, I mean, all this work just for me?"

Brennan tried to wave that off, "What? No, I mean. It wasn't that much. "

Booth smiled lovingly at her and then a small bite, "Mmm. This is unbelievable."

Brennan smiled, "You like it?"

Booth joked, "I'd like to be alone with it."

Brennan said softly after she stopped laughing, "She said I could go with my instincts, so I put in a little fresh ground nutmeg."

Booth nudged her with his knee, "Well, she taught you well. Thanks, Bones."

Brennan smiled affectionately at him, "Yeah, well, you know. We have to eat, right?"

Booth nodded, "Yeah. Gotta eat. Always gotta eat."

* * *

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	21. Chapter 21

**Chapter 21 – Stargazer in a Puddle**

Booth smiled lovingly at her and then took a small bite, "Mmm. This is unbelievable."

Brennan smiled, "You like it?"

Booth joked, "I'd like to be alone with it."

Brennan said softly after she stopped laughing, "She said I could go with my instincts, so I put in a little fresh ground nutmeg."

Booth nudged her with his knee, "Well, she taught you well. Thanks, Bones."

Brennan smiled affectionately at him, "Yeah, well, you know. We have to eat, right?"

Booth nodded, "Yeah. Gotta eat. Always gotta eat."

They ate in silence for a few more seconds, each taking in the delicious flavors of her dish, before Booth looked back up and said softly, "I mean it babe. This is amazing, thanks." Brennan smiled at him again and watched as he leaned over the table – her body naturally inclining toward him as well – to kiss. The kiss was innocent enough, a small peck really. Just something to show that he appreciated everything she did. But somewhere in the few seconds that it was innocent, one of them – neither knew – opened their lips just enough to give an invitation to the other. Soon their tongues were gliding fluidly against each other, their food forgotten.

Booth slid his fingers through her hair, tangling them in her silken locks. Perhaps they were acting like so since their last few cases had showed them some bad marriages. One accidently killed another man for a job opportunity while another cheated on her husband resulting in her ultimate demise. In either case, they subconsciously needed to prove to each other that they would never be like that no matter what the circumstances. Sure they would kill for each other, but only when their lives were at stake. They'd done it before and they would do it again in a heartbeat. Yet, they would never, ever cheat on each other or kill for such frivolous reasons.

So, before she really knew what happened, Brennan found herself in her husband's lap, straddling him, kissing him with such passion that it left them both breathless. Without much thought put into it, Booth cupped her ass – supporting her weight – as he stood up and walked them to their bedroom. This was not a time to have a good fuck in a chair. This time it was meant to be in their bed, showing each other – proving their love to each other, by making love gently and slowly. Lovingly. And that is what they did.

They took their time with each other. Whispering words of pure awe, adoration, admiration, trust, and love. They undressed each other with caressing fingers and lips. And when they finally came together in the most intimate way, they held each other close. Booth buried his face into her sweet smelling hair, taking a deep breath trying to stay grounded. He then leant back to look into her eyes. She smiled lovingly at him, her eyes the deepest blue he'd ever seen. As he brushed some hair out of her face, she sighed contentedly and whispered, "I love you Seeley."

Booth leant down a kissed her passionately before he told her huskily, "Let me show you how much I love you, babe." And then he started a slow and steady rhythm. Brennan wrapped her legs tightly around him and dove her fingers to muse his short hair, bringing his face toward her so she could kiss him. She held him close, but when she felt her inner muscles start to clench she swore that they nearly became one. She could tell where her skin ended and his began. They moved as one, their breath mingling together as her walls drew him in deeper still breaking her into a million of beautiful pieces. His own release came as well and soon he laid on top of her almost overwhelmed at the sheer emotions that this encounter stirred.

He didn't want to crush her though, so he slowly rolled off of her – Brennan eliciting a moan of protest at the loss of contact. However, Booth reached over and spooned her up against his chest pulling their comforter over their fast cooling bodies. Booth knew that he needed to get up and put their food away for later, but he also knew that Bones needed him more. If he felt so much from their encounter, he just knew that she was probably overwhelmed with her own feelings and she needed him as a bedrock, something tangible to hold onto. So for that moment he held her close until he felt her breathing even and knew she was asleep. For a brief moment before he went to the kitchen, he just watched her sleep. She was so beautiful, so strong. She made him whole. Booth placed a soft kiss on her hair as he slipped out and made his way to the kitchen. As he picked up the forgotten dishes he saw one of the few pictures they kept in the house, slightly concealed. It was of Brennan and Angela. He smiled as he saw her smile. He could only hope that Angela and Hodgins found what he and Brennan had.

~BONES~

Booth and Brennan walked onto the crime scene the following night. The place was wet and muddy. Booth hated it. He tried his best to dodge all of the puddles, "Ooh oh oh…"

Brennan shook her head as she watched Booth jump over a small puddle. She told him. "Well, you should've worn gumboots."

Booth jumped over an even bigger puddle and shook his head, "It's fine, you know I- I'm agile." After a few seconds he started up some conversation. They really hadn't talked all day, "So, Hodgins asked, uh, Angela to, uh, marry him?"

Brennan nodded. She already knew that. "Twice."

Booth couldn't help the happy grin that came to his face, "Oh and she uh, turned him down both times."

Brennan didn't know where he was going with this. "I heard all this from Angela."

Booth nodded as he recalled his conversation with Hodgins. "Yeah but did she tell you that he said that he wasn't going to ask her to marry him?"

Brennan humphed slightly. "Yes."

Booth raised a knowing brow. "And she said?"

Brennan sighed as she stepped over another puddle, "I'd like to marry you."

Booth joked, "Kinda sudden Bones. Let me think about it."

Brennan looked at him confused, "What? No. Booth, that's what Angela told Hodgins…" She trailed off as she noticed Booth laughing. "You're joking." She looked at him as she said, "You know, a lot of psychologists say that jokes are the way that we manifest a lot of our hidden desires. Thankfully you're already…"

Booth however had turned at the moment to follow her and stepped in a huge puddle. "Ah jeez!"

Brennan looked at him concerned, "You okay?"

Booth shook his head as he looked at his ruined shoes. He sighed annoyed at himself for getting distracted, "Yeah, fine." He shook off his wet leg and looked up at the cop at the scene. He needed to focus. "What do we got?"

~BONES~

Booth was staring at an x-ray of a lateral view of the skull and the c-spine. Brennan had had just tried to explain to Booth what she saw, but she could have laughed at his confused look. He looked…adorable. "Do you even know what you're looking at?"

Booth joked, "It's a neck bone, connected to the shoulder bone."

Brennan grinned at his and turned back to the computer screen. She pointed to a spot just under the cranium on the spinal cord, "There's arthritic lipping here, and here, on the posterior dens."

Booth's brows furrowed as he processed that. "Arthritis?"

Brennan told him, "For this to occur she had to look up like this." She then looked up at the ceiling.

Booth shrugged, "Maybe she prayed a lot."

Brennan shook her head in disbelief, "Four to six hours a day? What did she want so badly?"

Max walked into the room and said, "Her father?" Booth and Brennan turned around in surprise as they looked at him. He smiled at Brennan, "Hey baby."

Brennan couldn't believe this, "Dad?"

Max nodded at Booth approvingly. He liked the man. "Booth."

After his initial shock ended, Booth whipped out his gun and pointed it at Max, his sense of duty kicking in, "Put your hands up."

Brennan jumped up and tried to make him put the gun down. "Booth!"

Max raised his hands and smiled. "I was hoping we could get a drink or something before this part." After all, his little girl was going to be marrying this man.

Booth tried not to let Brennan's pleading eyes get to him. He had a job to do. "Max Keenan, you're under arrest as an escaped felon."

Max's smile faded, "Oh, okay. Then I guess that's no on the drink, huh?"

Booth tried to keep his voice even as he told Brennan, "Bones, grab the cuffs out of my back pocket there."

Brennan shook her head, "No."

Booth knew this was hard. Hell, he was arresting his father-in-law! But this was their job. "What do you mean no? Bones!"

Max told Brennan, "It's okay, baby."

Brennan squeezed his arm pleadingly, "I don't want to handcuff my own father. Plus, remember when he saved your life?"

Max told Booth, "Hey just throw 'em over here I'll do it myself."

Booth looked at Max incredulously and shook his head as he muttered to Brennan, "Now he's telling me what to do." He then told Max, "Just put your hands on the wall."

Max complied, as Booth handcuffed him. Brennan walked over to her dad and asked, "What? Dad what are you doing here?"

Max smiled at her, "I heard you were getting married."

Booth, who had been frisking him, looked quizzically at Brennan. How had heard that? Brennan shook her head and told Max, "What? No, Angela's getting married, to Hodgins, not me."

Max was deeply disappointed by that. "Oh, the bug guy. Oh, that's great."

Booth shook his head and said gruffly, "Will you shut up, please." Booth then glanced at Brennan who was glaring at him. He shrugged apologetically, "Long enough to Mirandize him."

Max snorted at that, "You got the right to remain silent, got it." He then smiled at Brennan, "We'll talk more later."

Booth looked at Brennan trying to make her see that he was only doing what he had to do. "Look, I'm sorry Bones, but he killed the deputy director of the FBI, I'm just doing my job."

Brennan sighed and nodded her head, "It's okay." She then told her dad, "He's right."

Max nodded sadly, "Kisses, baby."

Booth and Max left as Angela walked by then looking questioningly at Brennan. " Uh, sweetie? Was that your dad?" Brennan could only nod.

~BONES~

Booth threw a folder and wallet down in front of Max as Max lifted his cuffed hands. "Tell me something Max, on the job site, what's the most hazardous classification of an electrician?"

Max smirked, "Class one, division one, you planning on making a career change?" Booth took the water glass Max had been drinking from. He pulled it towards him with the ends of his handcuffs. Max nodded his head, "Oh. You checking out my prints?"

Booth told him honestly, "Max you know I like you and I hate to hurt Bones, but it's my job to catch you and I'm very good at my job."

Max smiled proudly, "Well you'd have to be to work with my daughter." He then stood and said, "What do you say? Shake hands with an old con. Or, or is that bad for the FBI image?"

Booth leaned in and whispered, "You abandoned her as a child, you don't think she feels that? Every time you pop in and out of her life? Hmm?" He told him that for two reasons. One to provoke him and two to let him know that it did hurt her each time he did that.

Max stared at Booth for a while then laughed, "You're just saying that so I'll hit you. Then you got a reason to lock me up. Twenty years ago that would have worked." He walked away and patted Booth on the back.

~BONES~

Brennan took the ring hesitantly, looked at it for a while and then put it on the table, "I - I have to go to bed, there are some inconsistency's with the remains, which I have to address, first thing in the morning."

Max nodded, "Okay"

Brennan knew that she had to call Booth to warn him, but… "You're welcome, to stay here, if you want."

Max smiled brightly at her, "The couch would be great."

Brennan shook her head as a small smile crossed her face, "No dad, I made up the guest room, in case you…Goodnight."

~BONES~

Caroline brought Booth the glass he took from Max Keenan earlier. "His fingerprints don't match."

Booth sighed, "There's nothing to compare them to."

Caroline said knowingly, "Max Keenan got himself wiped from the system."

Booth pursed his lips and nodded, "That's right."

Caroline couldn't believe it, "Who is this guy? Some sort of super criminal?"

Booth shrugged, "Could also have been deputy director Kirby, you know he wanted him dead so he made him invisible first."

Caroline could've laughed at the irony. "Hmm, that would be an ironic twist, seeing as you want to arrest Max for Kirby's murder." She saw that distant look on Booth's face, "You're not having doubts about catching this guy are you? I mean, he is your father-in-law."

Booth shook his head, "No. Bones gets it."

Caroline stood up, "You hope she does. I'll get DNA samples from the man; you find something to compare them to."

~BONES~

Booth was driving home when he remember that Brennan had called him while he was in a meeting. He flipped open his phone and listened to the message…Ah hell. This was not going to be good.

He parked in his usual spot and walked up the stairs slowly, trying to figure out a way to not be killed by Max. He slid his key in and unlocked his door. He took a deep breath before he opened the door. All the lights were off as far as he could tell, except their bedroom. He dropped his keys and wallet on the side table and started to loosen his tie as he walked toward the bedroom. He was half way there when he heard Max's voice, "Stop right there or I'll kill ya."

Booth stood stock still. He knew that Max was serious. Thankfully at that moment Brennan opened her door and saw Booth standing there with wide eyes. He really didn't want to have to shoot Max. Brennan then looked behind him and saw that her dad was standing behind him holding one of her artifacts. "Dad…"

Max shook his head and cut her off. He still could only see the outline of the intruder, but he knew that he had gone directly to his daughter's room. "Honey, call that partner of yours. Tell him that…"

Brennan sighed, "Dad, put that down. I didn't know how to tell you this and I wanted to wait until Booth arrived to tell you." Brennan then flipped the hallway light on and Max then saw that it was in fact Booth standing in the hallway. What the hell? Booth turned around and nodded stiffly at Max. Brennan stepped next to Booth and told Max, "Dad, Booth and I are…"

He once again cut her off. "Together. That's great! But why'd you have to wait for him to get here to tell me that?"

Brennan shook her head and was about to tell him, but Booth squeezed her hand. She had already been through so much today already. "Look, Max there's no easy way to tell you this, so I'm just going to say it. Bones and I are married. For over three years."

Max looked at them with shocked eyes. His little girl was married and he missed her wedding. It was then that he finally saw how much he truly had missed in her life. "That's-that's great news. I'm so happy for you, baby." He saw that she could see his hurt, but he wasn't hurt that she didn't wait for him to come back into her life to live. He was hurt that he had missed so much because of his previous life. He didn't want her to see that. "Well, I guess now that that's cleared, I'll just head back to bed. Goodnight." Brennan and Booth watched Max walk back to the guest room, both surprised at his fast departure.

~BONES~

Booth was driving his car, when his cell phone rang, "Booth."

Hodgins smiled, "Hey man will you stand up for me on Saturday?"

Booth nodded, "Sure, against who?"

Hodgins chuckled a little, "No, no I mean be my best man?"

Booth was surprised by that, "Sure, wow."

Hodgins leaned back in his chair, "Yeah I know, big honor."

Booth told him, "No, no yeah that, but you didn't give me much time to put a bachelor party together."

Hodgins shook his head, "No, no. No Bachelor party."

Brennan tapped his shoulder, "Is that Hodgins?"

Booth looked at her and nodded, "Yeah, he wants me to be his best man. Well if there's no Bachelor party what do you want me to do?"

Hodgins laughed, "Stand there, make a toast, hand over the ring, tongue kiss the maid of honor at the reception when people clink glasses."

Booth frowned a little at that, "Oh, um, who's the maid of honor?"

Hodgins smiled, "No idea, but most of Angela's friends are really hot. But I'm pretty sure it's…"

Brennan broke in, "Well, I'm the maid of honor." Booth stared at her with a slow smile forming on his face. "Why?" Man he was going to love this wedding.

~BONES~

Booth and Brennan were sitting at a table at the Royal Diner when Brennan asked softly, "Do you like your father?" She knew his past and if he still loved him…

Booth looked at her and told her seriously, "I love my father."

Brennan sighed shakily, "I think I love my father."

Booth leaned forward and whispered, "Well that's normal."

Brennan sighed, "But he ran out on me and Russ, he robbed people, he's a murderer, you know. He got my mother killed, how does he expect me to…"

Booth told her, "It's hard to trust someone who's abandoned you, especially a parent."

Brennan was near tears as she looked up at him, "Am I terrible for not wanting to care about my father?"

Booth grabbed her hand and stroked it reassuringly, "Look Bones, your father is going to do something tomorrow that's going to hurt you. How do you forgive that?"

Brennan asked, "I'm not a bad daughter? Bad person?"

Booth squeezed her hand, "You're not a bad anything babe."

~BONES~

As Max was walking to his car, Booth walked up to him. "Am I gonna need to use my gun Max?"

Max sighed, "Got your piece of paper?"

Booth nodded, "Max Keenan I'm placing you under arrest for the murder of Deputy Director…"

Max shook his head, "Alright, alright. Fine. You can take me, you know what you're right. I'm not going to abandon her again. I already missed too much." He then gave Booth a knowing look.

Booth took a step closer and asked, "You're not going to resist?"

Max chuckled, "It's your lucky day, I guess."

Booth sighed in relief. "Okay great."

Max took a step back from Booth's approaching form, "No you know what? I'm wrong, I can't go quietly. It's not my nature."

Booth shook his head, "Max, I got a gun."

Max tried to reason, "It's not my nature. You're going to have to shoot me. You understand?"

Booth asked incredulously, "Not your nature?"

Max shrugged, "Call it a character flaw." Max saw Booth taking out his gun and nodded, "Yeah. Shoot me. Shoot me, but in the leg if you don't mind."

Booth took off his jacket and got ready to fist fight with Max. He really didn't want to do this but hell. He punched Max in the face. "Hey, hey that's good kid, you're throwing." Max punched him back, Booth groaned and staggered back. "What's the matter kid? Got a glass jaw?"

Booth shook his head, "You know what? You talk too much." Booth punched him again.

Max knelt forward, "Geez, right in the face? Time! Time!"

Booth walked over to him and asked, "You had enough?"

Max waved him off, "Wait, wait I'm old."

Booth laughed slightly, "There's no time-outs during an arrest."

Max recovered and punched him again. They exchanged punches and finally Booth knocked Max to the ground. "Okay that's it, that's it I've had enough."

Booth walked over to him ready to cuff him, "Okay." Max then punched him in the groin and Booth's face scrunched up in pain. "That really hurt." They both laid there on the ground in pain.

~BONES~

Booth walked into his apartment with a slight limp. Damn, why'd Max go and have to punch him there. He could see that Brennan had fallen asleep on the couch, so he tried to make it to their kitchen as quietly as possible. But she was already half awake when he closed the door and she turned to look at his limping form. "Oh my god. Booth, what happened?"

She hurried over to him as he made it to the freeze. He grabbed an ice pack and placed it against his groin as he turned to face her. "I arrested Max. I'm sorry Bones."

She waved that off though as she assessed his injuries. Booth watched her intently as he tried to gauge her reaction that's when he noticed, "Babe, what's wrong?"

Brennan looked at him surprised by his question. "What?"

His own pains forgotten for the moment her gently cupped her face, "You've been crying. What happened?"

Brennan sighed, "Max gave me a video my mom made for me. I watched it when I got home." She tried not to cry again, but her voice became thick with emotion, "She said that I should forgive him."

Booth engulfed her into a hug and whispered nonsense, trying to soothe her. After a few minutes passed he whispered, "Let's go to bed. It's been a long day."

~BONES~

Booth and Brennan started walking down the aisle, followed by Zach and Cam. Booth whispered, "Bones?"

Brennan looked at him, "Yeah?"

Booth told her, "Listen, I'm, uh, sorry I had to arrest your father." They hadn't really had time to talk the whole day because of the wedding and this was the first real alone time they got.

Brennan looked at him slightly annoyed, "Do we have to talk about that right now? You did what you had to do, I understand."

Booth tried to explain, "Yeah, but…" However they were separated at the altar and he couldn't talk to her anymore. Just as Angela started walking down the aisle he whispered, "Bones?"

Brennan was definitely annoyed now, "What?"

Booth sighed, 'He could have gotten away."

Brennan was now extremely confused, "What?"

Booth took a step forward, "We go into a fight and your dad could have escaped capture."

Brennan still didn't get it. She too took a step forward as she asked, "So he beat you in a fight?"

Booth shook his head, taking another step forward as well, "No, no I didn't say that."

This was all very confusing to her, "What so you beat him but you gave him a chance to escape?"

Booth shook his head again, "No I didn't say that."

Brennan sighed in frustration, "Well I don't see any other alternative."

Booth grabbed her hand, "No he didn't run away because he felt if he abandoned you, he would have lost you forever. Just thought you should know."

Brennan looked at him for a second before she hugged him tightly, "Thanks Booth." Booth hugged her back, smiling.

Angela interrupted, "Um hi, I'd uh like to get married now." Brennan and Booth looked sheepish and parted ways.

~BONES~

Everyone was still at the altar when the door opened and Hodgins announced, "Change of plans, go directly to the reception, on us."

Angela smiled, "Thanks for coming."

Booth and Brennan were now standing directly in front of Minister Sheila – not really knowing what to do. "What do we do now?" They both turned to look at Minister Sheila as she smiled down at them.

~BONES~

Brennan and Booth tumbled onto their bedroom – in a slightly drunken state – as they tore each other's clothes off. Brennan laughed deeply as Booth tore her dress completely off from the back. "This reminds me of our wedding night."

Booth kissed the column of her neck and he huskily told her, "Let me remind you of what exactly happened."

And did he ever.

* * *

 **A/N 2: So tada. Max knows. I was so not planning on that, but there it is. I may or may not do a chapter break. I'm leaning toward not but let me know what you would like to see and I'll try to get it out there. Reviews are loved!**

 **This is the last chapter of this series of books the the next book will be in January 6, 2017. Oops I almost forgot the title of the book is: The Wonderful Partnership Pt 3, so if your already follow my acc you will be notified immediately after I post the chapter. So please follow my acc to be notified**


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